Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly

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Detailed labour force data collected on a quarterly basis

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Reference period
August 2019
Released
26/09/2019
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Main features

Data from the monthly Labour Force Survey are released in two stages. The Labour Force, Australia, Detailed - Electronic Delivery (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001) and Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly (cat. no. 6291.0.55.003) are part of the second release, and include detailed data not contained in the Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) product set, which is released one week earlier.

The Labour Force, Australia, Detailed - Electronic Delivery (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001) is released monthly. Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly (cat. no. 6291.0.55.003) includes data only collected in February, May, August and November (including industry and occupation).

Since these products are based on the same data as the Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) publication, the Labour Force, Australia - Explanatory Notes (cat. no. 6202.0) are relevant to both releases.

Insights from the original data

Sample composition

The Labour Force Survey sample can be thought of as comprising eight sub-samples (or rotation groups), with each sub-sample remaining in the survey for eight months, and one rotation group "rotating out" each month and being replaced by a new group "rotating in". This sample rotation is important in ensuring that seven-eighths of the sample are common from one month to the next, to ensure that changes in the estimates reflect real changes in the labour market, rather than the sample. In addition, the replacement sample is generally selected from the same geographic areas as the outgoing one, as part of a representative sampling approach.

When considering movements in the original estimates, it is possible to decompose the sample into three components:

  • the matched common sample (survey respondents who responded in both July and August;
  • the unmatched common sample (survey respondents who responded in August but who did not respond in July, or vice versa); and
  • the incoming rotation group (survey respondents who replaced respondents who rotated out in July).


The detailed decomposition of each of these movements is included in the data cube 'Insights From the Original Data'.

In considering the three components of the sample, it is important to remember that the matched common sample describes the change observed for the same respondents in July and August, while the other two components reflect differences between the aggregate labour force status of different groups of people.

While the rotation groups are designed to be representative of the population, the outgoing and incoming rotation groups will almost always have somewhat different characteristics, as a result of the groups representing a sample of different households and people. The design of the survey, including the weighting and estimation processes, ensures that these differences are generally relatively minor and seeks to ensure that differences in characteristics of rotation groups do not affect the representativeness of the survey and its estimates. Monthly estimates are always designed to be representative of their respective months, regardless of the relative contribution of the three components of the sample.

Incoming rotation group

In original terms, the incoming rotation group in August 2019 had a higher employment to population ratio than the group it replaced (62.4% in August 2019, compared to 61.9% in July 2019), and higher than the sample as a whole (62.3%). The incoming rotation group had a lower full-time employment to population ratio than the group it replaced (41.2% in August 2019, compared to 42.3% in July 2019), and was lower than the sample as a whole (42.4%).

The unemployment rate of the incoming rotation group was higher than the group it replaced (5.9% in August 2019, compared to 5.5% in July 2019) and was higher than the sample as a whole (5.3%). The participation rate was higher than the group it replaced (66.3% in August 2019, compared to 65.5% in July 2019) and higher than the sample as a whole (65.8%).

Outgoing rotation group

In looking ahead to the September 2019 estimates, in original terms, the outgoing rotation group in August 2019, that will be replaced by a new incoming rotation group in September 2019, had a lower employment to population ratio (61.7% in August 2019) compared to the sample as a whole (62.3%). The full-time employment to population ratio (43.3%) has a higher ratio than the sample as a whole (42.4%).

The outgoing rotation group had the same unemployment rate in August 2019 (5.3%) compared to the sample as a whole (5.3%). The participation rate of the outgoing rotation group in August 2019 (65.2%) was lower than the sample as a whole (65.8%).

The importance of trend data

As the gross flows and rotation group data are presented in original terms they are not directly comparable to the seasonally adjusted and trend data discussed elsewhere in the commentary, and are included to provide additional information for the original data. Since the original data are unadjusted, they have a considerable level of inherent sampling variability, which is specifically adjusted for in the trend series. The trend data provides the best measure of the underlying behaviour of the labour market and is the focus of the commentary in this publication.

Rotation group analysis for states and territories

In addition to analysis across the entire sample, the ABS also undertakes similar analysis for the responding sample in each state and territory each month, and highlights where there is a notable change for users to be aware of. For example, in the release of July 2018 data, on 16 August 2018, the ABS noted that "the rotation group effects in July 2018 were most pronounced in Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT".

As for its reporting for the entire sample, where the ABS has not highlighted a notable incoming rotation group effect, any larger changes should therefore be considered to reflect a broader change across the sample.

Article archive

This section provides an archive of articles and analysis published in Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) and Labour Force, Australia, Detailed - Electronic Delivery (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001) and Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly (cat. no. 6291.0.55.003), promoting the effective use of labour force statistics. Articles are sorted by publication month.

Articles on labour related topics are also available in Australian Labour Market Statistics (cat. no. 6105.0) and Australian Social Trends (cat. no. 4102.0)

Labour force survey archive

2019 Articles

2018 Articles

2017 Articles

2016 Articles

2015 Articles

2014 Articles

2013 Articles

2012 Articles

2011 Articles

Data downloads - time series spreadsheets

Table 04. Employed persons by industry division of main job (ANZSIC) - trend, seasonally adjusted, and original

Data files
Download xls [226 KB]

Table 05. Employed persons by state, territory and industry division of main job (ANZSIC)

Data files
Download xls [1.72 MB]

Table 06. Employed persons by industry sub-division of main job (ANZSIC) and sex

Data files
Download xls [3.37 MB]

Table 07. Employed persons by occupation major group of main job (ANZSCO) and sex

Data files
Download xls [284 KB]

Table 11. Employed persons by industry division of main job (ANZSIC) and hours actually worked in all jobs

Data files
Download xls [3.22 MB]

Table 12. Employed persons by occupation major group of main job (ANZSCO) and hours actually worked in all jobs

Data files
Download xls [1.47 MB]

Table 13. Employed persons by status in employment of main job and hours actually worked in all jobs

Data files
Download xls [1.76 MB]

Table 17. Employed persons by expectations of future employment and number of months with current employer or in own business

Data files
Download xls [535.5 KB]

Table 19. Underemployed persons by industry division (ANZSIC), occupation major group (ANZSCO) of main job and sex

Data files
Download xls [1.88 MB]

Table 23a. Volume measures of underutilisation by state, territory and sex

Data files
Download xls [208.5 KB]

Table 23b. Volume measures of underutilisation by age and sex

Data files
Download xls [384 KB]

Table 24a. Labour force status by state, territory, and level of highest educational attainment (ASCED)

Data files
Download xls [937 KB]

Table 24b. Labour force status for 20-64 year olds by level of highest educational attainment (ASCED) and sex

Data files
Download xls [337.5 KB]

Table 25a. Labour force status by state, territory and educational attendance (detailed)

Data files
Download xls [820 KB]

Table 25b. Labour force status for 15-29 year olds by age, educational attendance (detailed) and sex

Data files
Download xls [1.14 MB]

Table 26a. Employed persons by state, territory and sector (public/private) of main job

For a better level estimate of public sector employment, including by level of government, the ABS recommends referring to the annual Employment and Earnings, Public Sector, Australia (cat. no. 6248.0.55.002).

Data files
Download xls [119 KB]

Table 26b. Employed persons by Sector (public/private) of main job, age and sex

For a better level estimate of public sector employment, including by level of government, the ABS recommends referring to the annual Employment and Earnings, Public Sector, Australia (cat. no. 6248.0.55.002).

Data files
Download xls [551 KB]

Table 27. Employed persons by sector (public/private) and industry division (ANZSIC) of main job

For a better level estimate of public sector employment, including by level of government, the ABS recommends referring to the annual Employment and Earnings, Public Sector, Australia (cat. no. 6248.0.55.002).

Data files
Download xls [224.5 KB]

Table 28. Employed persons by sector (public/private) and occupation major group (ANZSCO) of main job

For a better level estimate of public sector employment, including by level of government, the ABS recommends referring to the annual Employment and Earnings, Public Sector, Australia (cat. no. 6248.0.55.002).

Data files
Download xls [119.5 KB]

Table 29a. Retrenchment by labour force status, state and territory

Data files
Download xls [225.5 KB]

Table 29b. Retrenchment by labour force status and by age and sex

Data files
Download xls [730.5 KB]

All quarterly time series spreadsheets

Data files
Download zip [7.86 MB]

Data downloads - data cubes

LQ1 - Labour force status by age, level of highest educational attainment (ASCED) and sex, August 2015 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [499.98 KB]

LQ2 - Labour force status by age, educational attendance (detailed) and sex, August 2015 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [225.04 KB]

EQ02 - Employed persons by number of months with current employer or in own business, sex, state and territory, May 2001 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [849.45 KB]

EQ03 - Employed persons by greater capital city and rest of state (ASGS), industry division of main job (ANZSIC) and sex, November 1984 onwards (pivot table)

Townsville Flood 2019 - (Data Cubes EQ03, RQ1 and RQ2)

Flooding in Townsville in February 2019 resulted in a major disruption to the operation of the Labour Force Survey. As a result, there was a very low sample of responding households in the region in February.

Given the severity of these disruptions and to ensure that this loss of sample did not affect data for Australia and Queensland, the ABS imputed sample for Townsville for February 2019. The imputation drew upon previous information that had recently been collected from people in Townsville. The imputation may have resulted in a slight overestimation of hours worked in Queensland in February 2019, given hours worked in Townsville may have been lower during the floods.

Following the collection of March 2019 data from Townsville, the February data was re-assessed and has not been revised. The ABS will continue to monitor the data over coming months and in February 2020.

Users of the matched sample analysis should also exercise some caution when looking at Queensland data between January, February and March, given the effect of the imputation for Townsville.

During 2018, the ABS estimated that employed persons in Townsville accounted for around 1 per cent of all employed persons in Australia, around 4 per cent of employed persons in Queensland, and around 9 per cent of employed persons in the regions in Queensland outside of Brisbane.

Data files
Download zip [8.19 MB]

EQ04 - Employed persons by hours actually worked in all jobs, sex and status in employment of main job, February 1991 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [2.01 MB]

EQ05 - Employed persons by industry division (ANZSIC) and status in employment of main job, February 1991 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [1.64 MB]

EQ06 - Employed persons by industry group of main job (ANZSIC), sex, state and territory, November 1984 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [38.54 MB]

EQ07a - Employed persons by age, occupation sub-major group of main job (ANZSCO) and sex, August 1986 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [8.02 MB]

EQ07b - Employed persons by occupation major group (ANZSCO) and status in employment of main job, February 1991 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [860.15 KB]

EQ08 - Employed persons by occupation unit group of main job (ANZSCO), sex, state and territory, August 1986 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [40.62 MB]

EQ09 - Employed persons by industry division (ANZSIC) and occupation major group (ANZSCO) of main job and sex, August 1986 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [6.01 MB]

EQ10 - Employed persons by hours usually worked in all jobs and industry division of main job (ANZSIC), May 2001 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [2.39 MB]

EQ11 - Employed persons by hours actually worked and industry division of main job (ANZSIC), May 2001 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [2.5 MB]

EQ12 - Employed persons by age and industry division of main job (ANZSIC), November 1984 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [3.42 MB]

EQ13 - Employed persons by age and occupation major group of main job (ANZSCO), August 1986 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [1.51 MB]

EQ14 - Employed persons by hours usually worked and industry division of main job (ANZSIC), August 2014 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [915.52 KB]

RQ1 - Employed persons by industry division of main job (ANZSIC), labour market region (ASGS) and sex, annual averages of the preceding four quarters, year to August 1999 onwards (pivot table)

Townsville Flood 2019 - (Data Cubes EQ03, RQ1 and RQ2)

Flooding in Townsville in February 2019 resulted in a major disruption to the operation of the Labour Force Survey. As a result, there was a very low sample of responding households in the region in February.

Given the severity of these disruptions and to ensure that this loss of sample did not affect data for Australia and Queensland, the ABS imputed sample for Townsville for February 2019. The imputation drew upon previous information that had recently been collected from people in Townsville. The imputation may have resulted in a slight overestimation of hours worked in Queensland in February 2019, given hours worked in Townsville may have been lower during the floods.

Following the collection of March 2019 data from Townsville, the February data was re-assessed and has not been revised. The ABS will continue to monitor the data over coming months and in February 2020.

Users of the matched sample analysis should also exercise some caution when looking at Queensland data between January, February and March, given the effect of the imputation for Townsville.

During 2018, the ABS estimated that employed persons in Townsville accounted for around 1 per cent of all employed persons in Australia, around 4 per cent of employed persons in Queensland, and around 9 per cent of employed persons in the regions in Queensland outside of Brisbane.

Data files
Download zip [27.06 MB]

RQ2 - Employed persons by labour market region (ASGS), occupation major group (ANZSCO) and sex, annual averages of the preceding four quarters, year to August 1999 onwards (pivot table)

Townsville Flood 2019 - (Data Cubes EQ03, RQ1 and RQ2)

Flooding in Townsville in February 2019 resulted in a major disruption to the operation of the Labour Force Survey. As a result, there was a very low sample of responding households in the region in February.

Given the severity of these disruptions and to ensure that this loss of sample did not affect data for Australia and Queensland, the ABS imputed sample for Townsville for February 2019. The imputation drew upon previous information that had recently been collected from people in Townsville. The imputation may have resulted in a slight overestimation of hours worked in Queensland in February 2019, given hours worked in Townsville may have been lower during the floods.

Following the collection of March 2019 data from Townsville, the February data was re-assessed and has not been revised. The ABS will continue to monitor the data over coming months and in February 2020.

Users of the matched sample analysis should also exercise some caution when looking at Queensland data between January, February and March, given the effect of the imputation for Townsville.

During 2018, the ABS estimated that employed persons in Townsville accounted for around 1 per cent of all employed persons in Australia, around 4 per cent of employed persons in Queensland, and around 9 per cent of employed persons in the regions in Queensland outside of Brisbane.

Data files
Download zip [12.45 MB]

UQ2a - Unemployed persons by industry division of last job (ANZSIC), reason left or lost last job and sex, February 1991 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [974.55 KB]

UQ2b - Unemployed persons by industry division of last job (ANZSIC), state and territory, February 1991 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [3.22 MB]

UQ3a - Unemployed persons by occupation major group of last job (ANZSCO), reason left or lost last job and sex, February 1991 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [666.69 KB]

UQ3b - Unemployed persons by occupation major group of last job (ANZSCO), state and territory, February 1991 onwards (pivot table)

Data files
Download zip [1.09 MB]

All quarterly pivot tables

Data files
Download zip [164.91 MB]

Methodology

Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly methodology, August 2019