This release is published on a quarterly basis, with quarterly data published for the September, December and March quarters, and a combined June quarter and annual financial year release.
Barriers and Incentives to Labour Force Participation, Australia
Latest release
People not working, or working less than they prefer, including whether they want to work, are looking for work, and factors for them to start working
Reference period
September 2024
Released
5/02/2025
Key statistics
In September quarter 2024:
- 1.2 million people (aged 18-75) without a (paid) job wanted a job, with 1 million available to start within 4 weeks.
- The most common reason for both men and women who wanted a job were unavailable to start within 4 weeks was 'Caring for children'.
- 2.1 million people without a job did not want a job, with a further 1.8 million either retired or permanently unable to work.
- The main reason for not wanting a job was 'No need, satisfied with current arrangements' (38%).
People who did not have a job
In September quarter 2024, there were 19 million people aged 18-75 years. Of these:
- 13.9 million were employed or had a job to start or return to (73%)
- 1.8 million were retired or permanently unable to work (9%)
- 3.2 million did not have a (paid) job (17%) - 1.2 million people wanted a (paid) job (36%) and 2.1 million people did not want a (paid) job (64%).
Of the 1.2 million people who wanted a job, 1 million (89%) were available within 4 weeks and 123,800 (11%) were not available within 4 weeks, down from 366,000 in March 2023.
Note: The survey was only conducted every second year prior to 2022-23.
In September quarter 2024, of those aged 18-75 years who did not have a job, were not retired and not permanently unable to work:
- 2.0 million people had a long-term health condition, and of these, 654,400 (33%) wanted a paid job, down from 39% in June 2024.
- 1.3 million people had a disability, with 474,700 of these people wanting a paid job (37%).
Note that people can report having both a long-term health condition and a disability.
People who did not want to work
Of the 2.1 million people aged 18-75 years who did not want a job in September 2024, the main reason for not wanting a job was 'No need, satisfied with current arrangements' (38%). For both men and women aged 18-24 years, 'Studying or returning to studies' was the main reason for not wanting a job (78% for men and 65% for women).
For women aged 25-39 years, 'Caring for children' (50%) was the main reason for not wanting a job, down from 57% in June 2024. For women aged 40-54 years, the main reason was 'Long-term health condition or disability' (27%) although in June 2024 the main reason was 'Caring for children'.
For men aged 25-39 years, the main reason for not wanting a job was 'Long-term health condition or disability' (31%), down from 38% in June 2024. 'Long-term health condition or disability' (57%) was also the main reason for not wanting a job for men aged 40-54 years.
People who were not available to work
The reasons people who want to work are not available are similar to the reasons people don't want to work. The main reasons women who wanted a job were not available within 4 weeks were:
- Caring for children (58%)
- Long-term health condition or disability (10%).
The main reasons men who wanted a job were not available within 4 weeks were:
- Caring for children (43%)
- Long-term health condition or disability (28%).
Incentives to work
Of the 3.2 million people who did not have a job in September quarter 2024, the most important factor associated with either returning to or commencing work was 'Finding a job that matches skills and experience', which was rated as 'Very important' by 33% of people.
For people with a long-term health condition, the most important factors were 'Ability to work part-time hours' (27%) and 'Finding a job that matches skills and experience' (26%).
For people with a disability, the most important factor was 'Finding a job that matches skills and experience' (33%).
Data downloads
Quarterly time series
Data files
Table Q1. Participation status
Table Q2. Whether wanted a job or more hours
Table Q3. Unavailable workers and job seekers
Table Q4. Reasons not looking for work or more hours
Table Q5. Difficulties finding work or more hours
Table Q6. Reasons for not wanting to work or more hours
Table Q7. Incentives to participate
Previous catalogue number
This release previously used catalogue number 6239.0.