abs interviewer development program

ABS Interviewer Development Program

Phase 1: Recruit Training

ABS Interviewer Information Pack

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ABS Interviewer Development Program

Phase 1: Recruit Training

Pre-Training PackAddendum

IntroductionAs part of a review of the training program some information needed to be added to the pre-learning pack. The information that new interviewers require is extensive. In order to bridge the gap this addendum is being trialled. The information below is generally in dot points. If you require further information it will be covered in your training course or in your ABS Interviewer's Manual that you will issued with on day one. Your instructors or coaches will be able to fill in any extra information required as your training progresses.

ABS Corporate Beliefs

• ABS belief in the importance of people is highlighted in the Corporate Plan and is the key to achieving our mission. It is reflected in the provision of high quality training, staff development and support. This results in long serving employees. Population Survey Operations exists to support Interviewers in the field who are acting as the face of the ABS.

• Our statistical services will remain relevant and responsive to emerging client needs. The Australian Statistics Advisory Council maintains relevance. They do this by changing the focus of collections over time (eg: shift in focus from minings/manufacturing statistics to environmental, social well-being and social capital statistics)

• We will follow best practice and maintain our international standing as a leading national statistical agency

• Our statistical practice will be professional and objective• We are independent from both government and private interest pressures. The Australian

Statistician is appointed (non-political) by the Governor General for a seven year term and can only be removed by agreement of both houses of Parliament. The ABS is proud of its independence, impartiality and professionalism.

• We will follow the highest standards of integrity and conduct. The ABS is a well respected, leading statistical organisation on the international stage.

• Our statistical information will be accessible to all. Basic information is provided free of charge on the ABS website from all of our collections. Additional information is available via a consultancy service for a fee. The ABS National Information and Referral Service (NIRS) handles the bulk of the consultancy services provided.

• Our providers' confidentiality, sensitivity and reporting load will be respected• Our statistical services will be cost effective and efficient. There is constant drive to achieve

greater effectiveness and efficiencies through ongoing systems and technological development.

Key principles in your work as a Field InterviewerThese are key reasons why interviewer training is so comprehensive and ongoing.

• Confidentiality - To ensure rights to privacy. There is legislation provided to help achieve this. Without this the ABS would cease to exist.

• Accuracy - This may be costly, but short cuts cannot be taken. Our users trust ABS data.• Professionalism - You are the public face of the ABS and often the only contact many people

with have with the ABS (aside from a Census Collector).

Main ABS Collection Methodologies• Households Surveys

• Personal interviews by field interviewer - using face-to-face and/or telephone• Any responsible adult (ARA) (where any responsible adult within a household can

answer for all others within that household) - using face-to-face and/or telephone• Self enumeration - drop off and mail return

• Business Surveys• Mail out - Mail back (paper survey forms)• Telephone Interviewing• Electronic Data Capture e.g. Electronic mail, Internet, Payroll companies• Administrative By-product

As an ABS interviewer you will be responsible for collection of Household Surveys only. Business Surveys are currently only handled by office staff.

Some examples of what the ABS produces:The ABS produces a vast amount of information on a daily basis. Most of the data is available free of charge on the website. The most important data/collections that we produce are listed below.

• Census of Population and Housing (next one is in August 2011)• Intercensal Population Estimates (estimated residential populations)• Labour Force - monthly employment and unemployment• Consumer Price Index (CPI)• Balance of Payments• National Accounts

The ABS Household Survey Program The household survey program is roughly divided into two separate areas.

• Monthly Population Surveys (MPS)◦ Labour Force Survey - monthly◦ Supplementary Surveys – generally monthly except December & January◦ State Supplementary Survey ("October survey")◦ Contains a mixture of both face-to-face and telephone interviewing

• Special (Supplementary) Social Surveys (SSS)◦ More complex◦ Ad hoc "User Pays" Surveys - as required◦ All face-to-face

MPS and SSS are managed by different sub-sections within PSO in your regional office.

• Overview of MPS◦ A randomly selected sample of private dwellings◦ Currently Australia-wide approx 36,000 private dwellings (houses, flats, etc..) are

selected (3,600 in WA).◦ Just under 0.5% of the population ◦ There is also a sample of non private dwellings (hotels, motels, etc..)◦ Each dwelling has one chance of selection◦ Main focus is labour statistics◦ Block lists (list of all dwelling within a block) are kept up to date by interviewer

checklisting◦ Sample is rotated to spread burden◦ Dwellings are in the survey for a period of 8 months◦ On average, each selected dwelling represents approximately 220 other dwellings ◦ Results released 6 days after the end of each survey

• Overview of the SSS program◦ Enumeration periods can be from 3 to 12 months◦ Dwellings are selected once only◦ Duration can be from half hour upwards ◦ Often personal interviews - more attitudinal topics◦ Results are generally released 6 to 12 months after the end of each survey.◦ Some examples include:

▪ Household Expenditure Survey▪ National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey ▪ National Health Survey▪ Survey of Adult Competencies

Contents

An Overview of the ABS 7

Welcome to the Australian Bureau of Statistics

About the ABS

Our purpose

The ABS Mission Statement

What we do

Our history

Our future

Objectives of the ABS

ABS Structure 9

ABS Sample Surveys 11

Monthly Population Survey

Sample Selection

How was my dwelling selected? 13

The ABS Interviewer Role 15

The job

Your work area

Your tools

The Monthly Population Survey

Background

What details are collected

Pay and Employment Conditions 17

Workload assignments

Payment

Hours of work

Leave

Conduct

Confidentiality

Consultative arrangements

ABS Interviewer Information Pack 3

Legislation & Confidentiality 19

Underpinning legislation

Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975

Census and Statistics Act 1905

How does the Census and Statistics Act affect you?

Labour Force Survey Results 21

Scope and Coverage 23

Labour Force Survey 25

The ABS Interviewer Tools 27

Where will I use the notebook?

How will I use the notebook computer?

Passwords and security

Password rules

What you can and cannot do with the notebook

Glossary of terms

Glossary of terms 29

Attachment A

Labour Force Australia 6202.0, April 2005

Financial Review: Job Strength won�t deny rates outlook, 13 May 2005

Sydney Morning Herald: Workforce rate trails richest countries, 13 May 2005

Attachment B

Extract from ABS Interviewers manual:

4.5 Scope and coverage in general

4.6 Keeping in touch

5.3 Survey scope and coverage

Attachment C


5.2 The Labour Force framework and concepts

5.4 The Questionnaire

4 ABS Interviewer Information Pack

An overview of the ABS

The ABS Mission Statement

The ABS Mission affirms that we serve the wholecommunity and that a good statistical system is animportant pillar of a robust democracy.

It also sets out the key principles under which weoperate. They should be part of our naturalbehaviour, but situations may arise where we mayneed their guidance.

�We assist and encourage informed decisionmaking, research and discussion withingovernments and the community, by leading a highquality, objective and responsive national service.�

What we do

The core business of ABS is to collect, compile,analyse and disseminate data.

! Official statistics are collected by government toinform debate, decision making and researchwithin government and the wider community.

They provide an objective perspective of thechanges taking place in national life and allowcomparisons between periods of time andgeographical areas.

! Open access to official statistics provides citizenswith more than one picture of society. It offers awindow of work and performance ongovernment itself, showing the scale ofgovernment activity in every area of public policyand allowing impact of public policies and actionsto be assessed.

! Reliable social and economic statistics arefundamental to open government (and) it is theresponsibility of government to provide them andmaintain public confidence in them.

Welcome to the AustralianBureau of Statistics

Congratulations on your acceptance as a trainee inthe ABS interviewer program. We have selected youbecause we feel confident that with training, you willbecome a valuable member of the ABS interviewerteam.

This is the first in a series of information sheets thatare designed to provide you with some backgroundto the ABS and your job as an interviewer. Theinformation covered in these brochures will bediscussed as part of your training but please keep alist of any questions for your trainer.

About the ABS

Our purpose

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is theprimary source of information about the Australianpeople and the economy. More than just numbers,this information shapes important policy decisionsthat help improve the nation�s social and economicconditions.

One role of the ABS is to collect people-relatedstatistics. Activities involve questionnaire design,geographic infrastructure update, data collection,processing and dissemination.

" ... the effectiveness and openness of a country'sstatistical system is a good indicator of thestrength of the democratic processes in thatcountry."

Paul Keating, then Treasurer, 1988


1863 - 1880: during this period a statistical bureauwas established in each of the colonies

1881: the first Australia-wide census was held -each colony conducting its count on the same day

1905: the Census and Statistics Act was passed

1906: conference held with State andCommonwealth bodies to ensure uniformity incollections

1911: first national census held under Census andStatistics Act

1956: the Statistics Act was passed for StateBureaus to be handed over to Commonwealthcontrol

1975: the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act waspassed

2005: ABS Centenary celebrated

Our Future

What Makes a Good Statistical Agency?

"The coverage and reliability of thestatistics; the methodologies used; andmost of all the integrity and objectivity ofthe statistical agency." The Economist, 7 September 1991

The success of the ABS in the future depends onour ability to work together towards a commonpurpose, with a shared understanding of ourpurpose and values.

Objectives of the ABS

An expanded and improved national statisticalservice

" An ABS statistical service that is timely,relevant, responsive, and respected for itsintegrity and quality

" Informed and increased use of statistics

" An active contributor to internationalstatistical activities that are important toAustralia or our region

" An organisation that encourages learning,innovation, performance and excellence in allit does

" The trust and cooperation of our providers

" Strong recognition and support for the ABSamongst decision makers and thecommunity

Following is a list of recent issues/eventswhich ABS statistics have been extensivelyused.

" monetary policy, e.g. interest rates

" inflation

" consumer confidence

" business confidence, profitability andinvestment

" foreign trade and commodity prices

" impact of the Olympics

" workplace relations, wage determination

" employment levels

" tax reform

" performance of government financialmanagement, fiscal policy, Federal/Statebusiness costs in general

" industry structure

" impact of technology on business andconsumers

" international comparisons

" employment

Our history

Statistics have been collected (initially by theindividual states) since federation in 1901. However,to build an overall view of how the newly formednation was doing, a National Statistical Office wasneeded, that could coordinate and evaluate datafrom the states.

In 1905, the Commonwealth Bureau of Census andStatistics (CBCS), lead by Sir George Knibbs, wasestablished under the Census and Statistics Act.Initially the Bureau was located in Melbourne but in1928, was relocated to Canberra. States stilloperated independently until the late 1950s whenthe state statistical offices were combined with theCBCS.

The CBCS was abolished in 1974 and the AustralianBureau of Statistics (ABS) established in its place.The Australian Bureau of Statistics Act of 1975,established the ABS as a Statutory Authority headedby the Australian Statistician (currently Brian Pink),

responsible to the Treasurer.

1788: the first Muster (Census) was conducted inAustralia

1828: NSW held first regular census in November


ABS Structure

Regional Offices (ROs)

Regional Offices are located in NSW, Vic, Qld, WA,SA, Tas, NT, ACT

There are approximately 3000 ABS staff nationally,located in Central Office and 8 Regional Offices.

Central Office (CO)

ABS central office is located in Belconnen, Canberra.


Australian Bureau of StatisticsBrian Pink (Australian Statistician)

Integrated Collection & Dissemination

Services Division(ICDSD)

Population, Labour, Industry &

Environment Statistics Group

(PLIESG)

Social Statistics Group (SSG)

Methodology & Data Management Division

(MDMD)

Corporate Services Division(CSD)

Technology Services Division

(TSD)

Integrated Collection

ABS Interviewers

Macroeconomics & Integrated Group

(MIG)

Population Survey Operations

(PSO)

ABS Sample Surveys

Monthly Population Survey

As an ABS interviewer, the first survey you will becollecting is the Monthly Population Survey. Thissurvey (as the name suggests) is collected eachmonth from a sample of persons. The survey iscollected on a monthly basis mainly to measurechanges in employment and unemployment in theAustralian economy, though it serves a number ofother purposes at the same time. Your training willteach you about the concepts and procedures usedin this survey.

The ABS collects other household based samplesurveys (called �Special Social Surveys� in general)and is also sometimes involved in collecting surveyson a contract basis for other organisations. Whenwork becomes available for you, you will be trainedseparately for these surveys.

Sample selection

Respondents often wonder why it is that theirhousehold is selected in a sample survey. Statisticalmethods allow for information collected from aselection of individuals to be used to measurecharacteristics of the entire population (withoutcollecting the information from everybody). It isimportant to note, however, that the individualsselected are done so randomly, so that there is aknown probability of any person in the populationbeing selected. Any method that changes therandom nature of selection (such as replacing aselected dwelling with another where collectionwould be more convenient) totally destroys thepretext of statistical method, and means that thedata collected cannot technically represent otherhouseholds for statistical purposes.

The ABS is well known for collecting the Census ofPopulation and Housing every five years. However,the ABS also collects information using samplesurveys. This is where statistical sampling methodsare used to select a relatively small number ofindividuals to �represent� the population.Information is collected from this survey sample andis then used to infer characteristics of the entirepopulation using statistical methods.

The advantages of household sample surveys overthe Census are:

" results are more up-to-date because survey datacan be processed more quickly;

" detailed information can be collected more oftenthan the Census, without jeopardising publiccooperation, allowing for changes over time tobe tracked; and

" cost is substantially reduced.

There are limitations to sample surveys but these aretaken into account before the decision is made toconduct a sample survey to collect the requiredinformation.

Sample surveys can be collected in a number ofways. Where the information is straight forward andthere is little risk of misunderstanding, the mostappropriate method may be to mail out a form for arespondent to fill in themselves and mail back. TheABS often collects business surveys in this manner.

Where a survey has slightly more complex concepts,the involvement of interviewers, either callingpersonally at a dwelling, or telephoning, greatlyimproves the quality of the data collected. Apersonal approach also has the advantage that aninterviewer can give the respondent a betterexplanation of the reasons for the survey and theuses of the information collected than can be givenby letter.


The area of each strata is then divided into �Primarysampling units� (PSUs). A PSU is simply a smallerdivision within a strata. PSUs are then selected forthe survey at random.

PSUs are further divided into smaller geographicalunits called �Collection Districts� (CDs). CDs arealso selected for the survey at random.

CDs are then divided into still smaller geographicalareas called blocks, and blocks are selected for thesurvey at random. After a block has been selectedfor the survey, dwellings are systematically selectedto make up the number of dwellings required forthe survey.

The enclosed diagram represents this process and itmay be helpful to use it should you need to explainthe selection process yourselves. The selectionprocess will be explained in further detail duringyour training.

For household surveys, that collect informationabout the population (such as employment details),the ABS employs a selection method that involvesmulti-stage random selection to arrive at a list ofselected dwellings. (This is examined below).Within a selected dwelling, all usual residents areusually included in the survey (with a small numberof specific exclusions).

In arriving at the sample of selected dwellings for asurvey, the ABS takes an approach that ensures arepresentative sample, while at the same timeminimising costs by concentrating selections withinan area.

To do this, each state in Australia is first dividedinto strata. A stratum is a geographical area thatincludes mostly dwellings of similar knowncharacteristics (such as the number of dwellings persquare kilometre or the area�s remoteness). Strataare then selected for the survey at random.

The headache is the most common illness reported to doctors. Australian Bureau ofStatistics figures show 2.2 million people reported suffering from headaches -making the ailment the most common reported illness - with those aged between 25and 44 the most likely to report the ailment. Migraines are less common, affecting 5per cent of males and 15 per cent of females.


The ABS Interviewer Role

Telephone interviews are conducted from your homeusing equipment supplied by the ABS.

Your tools

The survey itself is conducted using a notebookcomputer supplied by the ABS. You will besequenced through the survey questions which areset out in specific order and use specific wording.

The Monthly Population Survey

Background

The Monthly Population Survey has been carried outsince 1960 to provide regular information about thepopulation and the labour force of Australia. Thefigures for Australia's employment andunemployment come from this survey.

About 36,000 households around Australia areselected by the ABS to take part in the survey. It isan official survey conducted under the authority ofthe Census and Statistics Act 1905.

What details are collected?

The questions asked in the survey relate to thelabour market activities of all household members,for example, whether they are employed, looking forwork, at home, retired, at school, etc.

Employed persons will be asked some questions ontopics such as hours worked, their occupation andthe type of industry in which they work. Personslooking for work will be asked questions on topicssuch as steps taken to look for work and the lengthof time they have been looking for work.

Additional questions are asked in some surveysabout topics such as childcare, job searchexperiences, education, etc.

Your success in conducting face-to-face andtelephone interviews is what allows us to achieve ourgoal of gathering quality data. ABS Interviewersoften say they feel proud to be part of an elite teamthat contributes to the critical mission of collectingand providing timely, relevant, and quality dataabout our nation and it�s people.

The Job

You have been employed as an ABS Interviewer toconduct personal interviews for several different ABSsurveys. Your work schedule will vary depending onthe requirements of the survey/s you are asked toconduct.

The primary survey that you will be involved in is theMonthly Population Survey. You will also conductSpecial Social Surveys when required. The MonthlyPopulation Survey entails conducting face-to-faceand telephone interviews at a number of selecteddwellings throughout the first week of the survey(this is usually the second week of every month).The second week of the survey may entail somefollow-up work or additional interviewing.

The flexibility of the job is a great benefit. There areno set work hours although interviews may only beconducted between 8:30 am and 8:30 pm Monday toFriday and 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Saturday. Interviewsmay also, at the discretion of the interviewer, beconducted between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm onSunday.

Your work area

Face-to-face interviews are usually conducted in anarea �local� to you. (For rural interviewers this maycover quite a large area.) Although you maysometimes be asked occasionally to take on an areaunfamiliar to you. You will receive an allowance foruse of your own vehicle or under certain conditions,will have use of a corporate vehicle.


Pay and Employment Conditions forABS Interviewers

selections you have, the assessed time for the surveyand the amount of travel you undertake.

A workload payment will include four components:

" Fee

" Travel time

" Motor vehicle allowance; and

" Incidentals such as parking

Hours of work

Interviews may be conducted at any time between8.30 am and 8.30 pm, Monday to Friday, andbetween 9.00 am and 5.00 pm on Saturday.Interviews may also be conducted between 9:00 amand 5:00 pm on Sunday if desired. While your workschedule has some flexibility, you are required tomake a minimum number of attempts at differenttimes to contact a respondent. These times includeevenings and the last attempt to contact a householdyou have been unable to reach must be on aSaturday. In order to achieve the minimum numberof attempts, it is expected that you start yourworkload on the first day of the assignment. It is notpossible to start your workload late in the week andcomplete the required number of calls.

Leave

You may request an exemption from the panel for aperiod of time for a variety of reasons includingrecreation leave, maternity leave, illness, jury duty,etc.

This document is designed to give you a broadoverview of the pay and employment conditions ofABS Interviewers. You will be given more detail ofthese conditions during your training

Work and Record of Pay (WARP)

After you have successfully completed your initialtraining, you will be employed as an ABS Intervieweron an ongoing basis. Where possible, you will beoffered at least one week's work each month. Toaccept the work you are required to sign a type ofcontract called a WARP. You will be given up to threemonths� notice of your expected workloadcommitments.

Most WARPs contain a number of selected dwellingsthat you must either phone or call at personallyduring the assigned interview week. You areexpected to use your own vehicle for all field work.You will be paid a motor vehicle allowance. You arealso expected to conduct assigned telephoneinterviews from a private, secure area within yourown home using equipment that will be supplied bythe ABS.

Payment

Interviewer pay is based on an hourly ratedepending on the length and complexity of thesurvey you will be working on. For most surveys, an�assessed time�, known as the "fee", is calculatedand that is the amount of time you will be paid foreach interview you complete. You will be advised ofthe assessed time for the survey in advance. Theactual amount of pay you receive for each workloadassignment will vary depending on the number of


Confidentiality

One important aspect of your role as an Interviewer

is that you maintain the confidentiality of survey

respondents. You will be required to sign an

undertaking stating that you will never divulge

information obtained as part of your job for

anything other than official purposes. The ABS

takes this very seriously and can prosecute

employees who fail to maintain confidentiality under

the Census and Statistics Act. The undertaking

applies even after you leave employment with the

ABS.

In addition to signing the secrecy undertaking, you

must ensure that:

" you maintain the security of your notebook

computer and of survey materials at all times,

and report any loss or theft immediately;

" you do not allow anyone (including children) to

accompany you to an interview unless they are

another ABS Interviewer or officer acting in an

official capacity;

" other family members, visitors to your home or

any other non-ABS persons do not have access

to your interviewing work or can easily overhear

your telephone interviews.

Consultative arrangements

The ABS is committed to effective workplace

relations that value communication, consultation

with interviewers and their representatives,

cooperation and input from interviewers about

matters that effect their work and workplace.

The Population Survey Operations Working Group

(PSOWG) is the primary forum for consultation on

significant national Interviewer work related issues.

Conduct

As an ABS Interviewer, you are expected to abide

by a standard of conduct. Failure to adhere to the

expected standard of conduct may result in a range

of action being taken, including termination of

employment with the ABS.

The following list contains some of the standards of

conduct expected of interviewers:

" that you attend and participate in the ABS

Interviewer Development Program and any

other training as required;

" that you do not engage in any dishonest

conduct in your dealings with the ABS or with

respondents;

" that you maintain a professional approach and

confine your relations with the respondent to

the collection of survey information;

" that you not contact households or persons who

are either currently or previously selected in an

ABS survey for any purpose other than the

collection of survey information (as outlined in

the survey documentation for that survey); and

" that, during survey contact made for the

purpose of collecting survey information you do

not attempt to sell, demonstrate, canvas or

solicit interest in, or support for any product,

business, commercial, religious or personal

activity in which you may be involved.


Legislation & Confidentiality

The secrecy provision of the CSA imposes anabsolute Secrecy requirement except:

" for the purpose of the Act

" in accordance with a determination

" return to source

The publication provisions of the Act require:

" statistics cannot be published in a manner that islikely to enable the identification of a particularperson or organisation

How does the Census andStatistics Act affect you?

While working for the ABS and also when you resign,retire or leave the ABS for any other reason, thereare limitations imposed by law on what you can andcannot say about your work in the ABS.

You will sign a copy of the Undertaking of Fidelityand Secrecy when you first joined the ABS. Thisundertaking is a legal document - it states the waysin which information known to an ABS officer may becommunicated to other parties.

Simply put, an ABS officer may only divulgestatistical information in two ways:

" in accordance witha MinisterialDetermination

" informationcollected can bereturned to theperson whooriginally providedit to the ABS.

Subsection 12(1) of the Act says, broadly, that theStatistician shall publish and disseminate the results

Underpinning Legislation

The ABS is basically governed by two Acts ofParliament: the Census and Statistics Act (CSA), andthe Australian Bureau of Statistics Act.

The ABS Act sets up the ABS and the position of theStatistician and describes the functions of the ABSand its officers.

Three keystones to ABS legislation:

! Independence

! Authority

! Confidentiality

Australian Bureau of Statistics Act1975

The Australian Bureau of Statistics Act establishesthe ABS and establishes the office of Statistician.

ABS functions are defined:

" to constitute the central statistical authority forthe Australian Government

" to collect, compile, analyse and disseminatestatistics

" to coordinate the operations of official bodies,avoid duplication, attain compatibility,

" and facilitate maximum utilisation of information

" to promote standards

" to provide advice and assistance to officialbodies

" to provide liaison with international organisations

Census and Statistics Act 1905

Provides the ABS with the authority to collectinformation and regulates ABS activities.


A simple rule to follow, if you are faced with asituation concerning statistical information beingdivulged to a person who is not another ABS officer,DON'T. Discuss the situation with your supervisorand be guided by their decision as to whether youcan discuss the matter with the person involved.

It is to your benefit to become acquainted with allthese Acts and their relevant Regulations.Remember, advice on, or interpretations of any Actconcerning you is available, through yoursupervisor, from relevant areas in the ABS.

of compilation and analysis of statistical informationcollected - that is, the ABS is to publish statistics.

However, subsection 12(2) says that statistics mustnot identify the person or organisation to whichthey refer.

Discussion of statistical information between ABSofficers is allowable under the Act on a "need toknow� basis, as is discussing information with theperson who provided it (e.g. in query action).However, it cannot be discussed with any otherperson, and this is where the undertaking yousigned places an obligation on you as ABS officers.

In 1992 a representative of the Privacy Commissioner stated "The ABS is probablythe only Commonwealth agency whose assurances of confidentiality mean whatthey say .... The ABS appears to have an excellent record in relation to thoseassurances."


Labour Force Survey Results

You see that the media uses the information to

comment on the effectiveness of government (and

government body�s) policies, and to draw conclusions

about things that might happen in the future.

You can also see that the data produced by the ABS

(of which the Labour Force data is one example) is

relied upon heavily by public policy makers as a

guide to decision making.

The ABS prides itself on the accuracy and

independence of its statistics and relies heavily on

the professionalism of its workforce to ensure that

this quality continues.

Attachment A contains a document which is an

extract from the April 2005 publication of Labour

Force, Australia produced by the ABS. This

publication contains results from the April Labour

Force Survey, part of the Monthly Population Survey

collected by the interviewer team that you will be

joining.

The concepts used in the Labour Force Survey will be

explained to you in further detail during your

training. The publication gives an example of the

way in which the ABS presents the survey

information you collect after it is compiled.

Also enclosed in Attachment A is a small collection of

newspaper articles that were published after the data

was released in May.


Scope and Coverage

The main purpose of the coverage rules is to give

each person in the population only one chance of

being selected in the survey. The coverage rules

establish whether or not a person at a selected

dwelling is associated with the dwelling. Those

persons associated with the selected dwelling are in

on coverage and those that are not are out on

coverage.

Attachment B is an extract from the ABS

Interviewers Manual and provides an outline of the

scope and coverage rules for the Labour Force

Survey. Further explanation to these rules will be

provided in training.

The Labour Force Survey has scope and coverage

rules to ensure that the survey results pertain to the

population of interest (scope rules), and to ensure

that statistical procedures are correct (coverage

rules).

There are some people in Australia for whom Labour

Force Survey information is not required because

their activities are not relevant to the objectives of

the survey. These people are considered to be

outside the scope of the survey and are described as

out on scope.


Labour Force Survey

Attachment C is an extract from the ABS

Interviewers Manual and explains each of the

questions that make up the Labour Force Survey.

This will enable you to complete questionnaires for

the cases that you are likely to encounter.

The Labour Force Questionnaire which will be

covered further in training.

The Labour Force Survey makes up the main

component of the Monthly Population Survey.

The Labour Force Survey collects information to

derive unemployment and employment statistics as

well as assist and encourage informed decision

making, research and discussion on a wide range of

issues.


The ABS Interviewer Tools

How will I use the notebook computer?

The notebook uses Windows XP as its operating

system. An operating system provides a simple and

efficient way to access the software tools you will

use as an interviewer.

The main software tool you will be using on the

Notebook is Lotus Notes

To Record:

# Survey data

# Time and Travel information

# Details of the household being surveyed

To Read:

# Notices

# Procedures Manuals

To Communicate with:

# The Office

# Other interviewers

You do these tasks in Lotus Notes databases. A

database is the electronic version of a library, and

within each database a number of electronic

documents are stored.

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the

tools you will be using as an interviewer for the

Australian Bureau of Statistics. You will receive

further instruction during the training on how to use

the tools.

To do your work you will be provided with a

notebook computer. The ABS will also provide you

with a desk, chair, external mouse and keyboard,

lamp, modules for lifting the notebook screen to a

suitable height on your desk, a set of drawers/filing

cabinet, telephone to be connected to a dedicated

ABS phone line and an answering machine.

Where will I use the notebook?

You will be using your notebook in your home office

to conduct telephone interviews and complete

clerical work (e.g. pay documents).

The notebook will also be used in the 'field' to

conduct face to face interviews. This will involve

travelling with your notebook in the car, carrying it to

the dwelling selected to be interviewed and setting

the notebook up in the dwelling or outside to

conduct the interview.

Occupation Health and Safety (OHS) training will be

provided during the course to ensure that you know

how to carry and set up the notebook correctly to

prevent any injuries.


What you can and cannot do with the

Notebook

# Unauthorised persons are not to use the

Notebook, e.g. children.

# Do not use the notebook for any other

purpose and do not attempt to load any

other software.

# DO NOT let any respondent or family

member operate the notebook, even if they

are 'helping' with a technical problem.

# Take all reasonable care to protect the

notebook (e.g. do not leave it on car seat,

lock it in the boot).

# If the Notebook is stolen, report it as soon

as possible to your supervisor and the

Police. Arrangements will be made for a

replacement.

Any breaches of security will be investigated and

appropriate action taken.

Glossary of Terms

To help you understand the terms and acronyms

used in the ABS a Glossary of terms has been

provided. You can add any other terms for your

reference at the end of the document.

Passwords and Security

Your notebook contains highly confidential material.

To ensure the security of the data on the notebook

a three level password system is used.

Lotus Notes password

Enter when opening Lotus NotesDoes not need to be changed unless compromised

Windows XP password

Use to unlock the Notebook. A notebook will become locked if ithas been inactive for more than 5 minutes or you actually lock it.Will synchronise with the pointsec password when it (the pointsecpassword) is changed

Pointsec password

Entered when the notebook is turned on to open the WindowsDesktopIs synchronised with the Windows XP passwordChanged every 28 days when prompted by the notebook

Passwords used to protect the Notebook Data

During your training course you will be required to

change your notebook passwords. Consider the

password that you would like to use before the

training applying the following rules.

Password rules

# passwords must be at least 8 characters

(more is desirable) using upper and lower

case letters plus numbers;

# create a password or pass-phrase that you

can remember but is reasonably obscure;

# change your password frequently and

whenever you think it may have been

compromised for any reason;

# do not write passwords down anywhere or

divulge them to anyone.


Glossary of terms

Assists you to identify each block andfind your way around it. The map mayor may not be shown to scale.

Block Map

Provided for interviewing in rural areasto assist you in locating the selectedblock. It will show the roads from thenearest town or towns and will witherbe a separate map or attached as aninset on the block map.

Block Location Map

A paper document which lists all privateand special dwellings in a selected block.

Block List

Blocks are areas containing dwellingswith clearly defined boundaries.

Block

Notes:ExplanationTerm


The call types are:

Interview

No Contact

Refusal

Other non-response

Sample loss

Home Edit

Recorded in Error

Indicates the type of call made at thedwelling, e.g. if it resulted in aninterview or there was no contact, or a refusal, etc.

Call type information is used by the nextinterviewer to organise their workload. Italso provides management informationto the office. From the call type they cansee whether there are any refusals ornon-contact calls made to the dwelling.They can also see what time asuccessful interview took place theprevious month.

Call Type

A paper document to record contactsand attempted contacts at a dwelling.One Call Summary Card per household isused for face to face interviewinghouseholds only.

Call Summary Card

The number of times an interviewershould call at a household until theysuccessfully complete the surveyinterview (for that month in the MonthlyPopulation Survey), or until they canestablish that they are unable tocomplete the survey interview. Thenumber of call backs varies according towhether the selection is in an urban orrural area, and whether the interview isto be a telephone interview or aface-to-face interview.

Call Backs

An attempt to make contact with theperson/s in a selected dwelling.

Call

Applied to the dwellings listed in theBlock List to identify the second andsubsequent dwellings selected in theblock for interviewing.

Block SampleInterval (or Skip)

E.g: 10150 / 121T / 025 / 1The block number follows the PSUnumber in the indicative, and consists ofthree numeric figures plus a fourth�check digit� letter.

The rotation group number (second digitof the block number) indicates when theselection rotated in the sample.

Block Number


A suite of rooms contained within abuilding, which are self-contained, andintended for long-term residential use.To be self-contained, the suite of roomsmust possess cooking andbathing/showering facilities as buildingfixtures.

Dwelling

This is a structure that was a dwellingbut is now definitely uninhabitable.

Derelict Dwelling

The Contents pane is on the right handside of a Notes Database and displaysthe database documents

Contents Pane

For the persons who are included youobtain a survey questionnaire. Thesepeople are described as being in oncoverage. You do not need to complete asurvey questionnaire for persons who areexcluded from the survey on grounds ofa coverage exclusion. These people aredescribed as being out on coverage.

The coverage rules establish whether ornot a person at a selected dwelling isassociated with that dwelling. Theserules are designed to ensure that aperson has only one chance of beingselected in a survey.

Coverage

The group of dwellings selected torepresent a block, using a Random start.

Cluster

Checklisting is a way of identifyinghousing changes and checking that outcurrent sample selections are completeand correct. Checklisting involveschecking and updating (if necessary)the block list before any interviewingoccurs in that block and then each timethe selected dwellings change i.e. everyeight months.

Checklisting

Collects information from the entirepopulation.

Census

1 2 3 45

7 689

10 11 12 13Stratum

CDsWhen the Census is conducted alldwellings in Australia are grouped intoCensus Collector�s districts of around250 dwellings.

CDs

Census CollectorsDistricts


Collects names and demographic detailsof all the people who usually live at aselected private dwelling and anyvisitors who stayed at the dwellinginterview night.

Household Form

The Household Details documentdisplays information about the selectedhousehold which is useful, particularly inthe second and subsequent months thata household is in the survey (as it isascertained during the first month�sinterview).

Household DetailsDocument

Lodgers are not members of thehousehold where they lodge (since theyprovide their own meals). Boarders areconsidered members of the householdwhere they board (since they sharemeals).

A group of related or unrelated peoplewho live in the same dwelling andconsider themselves to be a household.Household members have commonprovision for meals.

Household

A practical exercise designed to teachyou the supplementary survey topic inthe Monthly population Survey (MPS)and the interviewing procedures to befollowed.

HSE

Home StudyExercise

A query which needs to be brought tothe Office�s attention

Field Query

An interview conducted by visiting theselected dwelling.

FF

Face-to-faceInterviewing

This concept is based on the principlethat a person aged fifteen years andover:

$ Worked for one hour or more inreference week

$ Undertook economic activity

$ Was an employee who had a job butwas not at work

Employed

E.g: 10150 / 121T / 025 / 1A three digit serial number starting at001, given to the dwellings listed in aselected block.

Dwelling Number


A paper document to record attemptedand successful contact with respondentsfor telephone interviewing.

MPS TelephoneInterviewing DailyRunning Sheet

The major component of the MonthlyPopulation Survey. The informationcollected is used to deriveunemployment and employmentstatistics as well as assist and encourageinformed decision making, research anddiscussion on a wide range of issues.

LFS

Labour ForceSurvey

Represents the key official measure ofthe total supply of labour available tothe labour market.

It is made up of the employed andunemployed categories.

Labour Force

E.g: 10150 / 121T / 025 / 1This is a unique number assigned toeach selected household to ensurecorrect identification throughoutcollection and the processing of surveydata. The Indicative comprises of thePSU number, Block number, Dwellingnumber and the Household number.

Indicative

A remark or comment that about theselected dwelling that is of assistance toyou and other interviewers.

Household Remark

The first person listed on the Householdform.

HRP

HouseholdReference Person

E.g: 10150 / 121T / 025 / 1Each selected dwelling is automaticallygiven a Household number of �1�.However, if a dwelling contains twohouseholds, the added household willhave the same PSU, Block and DwellingNumber, but will be given a HouseholdNumber of �2�, and so on for any otheradditional households.

Household Number


A clarifying question, seeking moreinformation.

Probe

It outlines:

$ Their household has been selected ina survey conducted by the AustralianBureau of Statistics.

$ Their part in the survey

$ A guarantee of confidentiality

$ Information regarding the nature ofthe survey.

A letter sent to selected householdsprior to an interview taking place.

PAL

Primary ApproachLetter

Collection of person type establisheswhether each person is a usual residentof the household or a visitor. It isrequired for household type and familycoding, for questionnaire sequencingand for monitoring the survey sampleand coverage rules.

Person Type

Occupational Health and Safety isestablishing and maintaining a workingenvironment and systems of work inwhich all employees are able to worksafely and effectively without risk totheir health, safety and welfare.

OHS

OccupationalHealth and Safety

Includes people who are not employedor unemployed. It includes people whowould like to work but were not activelylooking for work or were not available towork.

Not in the LabourForce

The months of the year, when LabourForce Survey schedule excludesoccupation, industry, job tenure andunderemployment questions. These areonly collected in quarter months.

Non-quater Months

The Navigator Pane is located on the lefthand side of Notes Databases andallows you to specify how you would liketo view the documents in the Contentspane.

Navigator Pane


A member of a selected householdanswering questions (either in regardsto themselves or other members of thehousehold depending on the prescribedmethod for that survey).

Respondent

Replication is the process by which yournotebook is connected to a networkcomputer in the office and information istransmitted between the office and yournotebook.

Replication

Provides details about refusals. Thesedetails may be useful to determine anyfollow-up action.

Refusal Report

The dates for the reference week areautomatically set when the interview/editbutton is selected in the HouseholdDetails document.

People are identified as belonging to aLabour Force Group based on theiractivity in a reference week. This weekcovers the period from Monday toSunday immediately preceding the weekin which the interview is beingconducted.

Reference Period

In February, May, August andNovember, the full range of LabourForce Survey questions is asked. Theinformation is not likely to change frommonth to month and is therefore notcollected monthly, to minimise theburden placed on respondents.

Quarter Months

E.g: 10150 / 121T / 025 / 1The PSU is the first number in theindicative. It consists of 5 digits, witheach digit signifying certaincharacteristics of the selection.

PSU

The PSU Number

A dwelling is defined as "private" if itprovides unit or self containedaccommodation. Thus ordinary housing,flats, villa units etc., are privatedwellings, as are temporary dwellingssuch as caravans, tents outsiderecognised Caravan Parks and CampingGrounds.

Private Dwelling

A reminder of words, a memory jogger,a repeat of the question withappropriate emphasis on key words.

Prompt


One Special Dwelling Form is completedfor each selected unit in a SpecialDwelling the same way that oneHousehold Form is completed for eachhousehold in the Private Dwellingsample.

SDF

Special DwellingForm

Establishments which comprise anumber of dwelling units. They usuallyprovide predominantly short-termaccommodation for communal or groupliving and often provide common eatingfacilities.

SD

Special Dwelling

Other divided areas include �LeastRemote�, �Remote� and �Very Remote�.

Area (or strata) that have been dividedin each State and Territory with at least50 dwellings per 4000 square kms.Therefore all metropolitan areas areSRAs.

SRA

Self RepresentingAreas

A paper form designed to collectessential Labour Force information incases where interviewer administrationis not possible. Self-enumeration formsare used in place of an interviewer onlyin extenuating circumstances.

SE

Self-enumerationForms

To establish survey scope, you are givena set of rules to apply to persons in aselected dwelling. Where someone isidentified as the subject of a scope rule,and excluded from the survey, they aredescribed as out on scope. Persons in aselected dwelling who are not on scopeare described as being in on scope.

Survey scope refers to the populationthat the survey is collecting informationabout.

Scope

In the Monthly Population Survey thesample is rotated so that dwellings areonly included for a limited time. This isdone by replacing one eighth of thesample with new dwellings each month.

Rotation of theSample

Indicates the status of the interview atthe selected dwelling, e.g. Fullyresponding, full refusal, full non-contact,vacant dwelling, etc.

Response Status

A remark relating to any non-responseor sample loss situations at a dwelling.

Response Remarks


This indicates the month when adwelling first rotated into the survey. Inthe MPS after eight months, the groupof dwellings in the survey are rotatedout and the next cluster is rotated in.

Survey In

Each survey is given a unique surveyidentifier. The Monthly PopulationSurvey is identified by an M then theyear and the month of the survey(MYYmm). This identifies that the surveyis the Monthly Population Survey beingconducted during this time.

Special Social Surveys are identified bySSSxx. Where xx is a number.

Survey ID

SurveyIdentification

Collects information from a sample ofthe population.

Survey

Form part of the Monthly populationSurvey and include additional topics toobtain a wide range of information in allmonths apart form January andDecember.

Supps

SupplementarySurveys

Other household based surveysconducted by the ABS, e.g. NationalHeath Survey, Survey of Education

SSS

Special SocialSurveys

Special notes about the household thatinterviewers will need to know insubsequent months in here.

Special Notes

This is selected from a comprehensivelist referred to as the frame, that aims tomaintain an up to date record of thename, location, type and occupancy ofall special Dwellings across Australia.

Within each selected Special Dwelling asample of dwellings or individual units isselected. The selected units arecomparable to the selected dwellingswithin a Private Dwelling block.

Special DwellingSample


This is your contract to accept theworkload you have been assigned. Itlists the dwellings you will beinterviewing and defines your method ofpayment. Accepting this contract meansyou agree to undertake your assignedworkload under the terms andconditions in the interviewers CertifiedAgreement.

The WARP is also where you record thehours you have worked and the amountof travel you have done to undertakethe work given to you.

WARP

Work and Recordof Pay


Attachment A

q Labour Force Australia 6202.0, February 2010

q Australian Broadcasting Commission (www.abc.net.au) - Jobs Growth Slows, unemployment ticks up, 24 March 2010

q Sydney Morning Herald (www.smh.com.au): Unemployment tipped to dip below 5%, 05 March 2010

ABS Interviewer Information Pack Attachment A

pts–0.3 pts–0.165.265.3Participation rate (%)

pts0.0 pts0.15.35.2Unemployment rate (%)

%1.210.7615.9605.2Unemployed persons ('000)

%1.60.410 971.110 970.7Employed persons ('000)

Seasonally Adjusted

pts–0.2 pts0.065.265.2Participation rate (%)

pts0.1 pts–0.15.35.4Unemployment rate (%)

%3.2–8.3614.7623.0Unemployed persons ('000)

%1.726.710 971.610 944.8Employed persons ('000)

Trend

Feb 09 toFeb 10

Jan 10 toFeb 10Feb 2010Jan 2010

K E Y F I G U R E S

T R E N D E S T I M A T E S ( M O N T H L Y C H A N G E )

! Employment increased to 10,971,600

! Unemployment decreased to 614,700

! Unemployment rate decreased to 5.3%

! Participation rate at 65.2%

! Aggregate monthly hours worked increased to 1,539.6 million hours

S E A S O N A L L Y A D J U S T E D E S T I M A T E S ( M O N T H L Y C H A N G E )

! Employment increased 400 to 10,971,100. Full-time employment increased

11,400 to 7,659,700 and part-time employment decreased 11,000 to 3,311,400.

! Unemployment increased 10,700 (1.8%) to 615,900. The number of persons looking for

full-time work increased 9,200 to 447,100 and the number of persons looking for

part-time work increased 1,500 to 168,800.

! Unemployment rate increased 0.1 pt to 5.3%. The male unemployment rate increased

0.2 pts to 5.4% and the female unemployment rate decreased 0.1 pt to 5.2%.

! Participation rate decreased 0.1 pt to 65.2%.

! Aggregate monthly hours worked increased 35.9 million hours (2.4%) to

1,553.2 million hours.

L A B O U R U N D E R U T I L I S A T I O N ( Q U A R T E R L Y C H A N G E )

! Trend estimates: Labour Force underutilisation rate decreased 0.3 pts to 13.0%.

! Seasonally adjusted estimates: Labour Force underutilisation rate decreased 0.6 pts to

12.8%. The male labour force underutilisation rate decreased 0.7 pts to 11.1% and the

female labour force underutilisation rate decreased 0.4 pts to 14.9%.

K E Y P O I N T S

E M B A R G O : 1 1 . 3 0 A M ( C A N B E R R A T I M E ) T H U R S 1 1 M A R 2 0 1 0

LABOUR FORCE A U S T R A L I A

6202.0F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 0

For further informationabout these and relatedstatistics, contact theNational Information andReferral Service on1300 135 070, [email protected] Steve Wood onCanberra (02) 6252 6525,[email protected].

Employed Persons

Feb2009

May Aug Nov Feb2010

'000

10760

10800

10840

10880

10920

10960

11000TrendSeas adj.

Unemployment rate

Feb2009

May Aug Nov Feb2010

%

5.1

5.3

5.5

5.7

5.9TrendSeas adj.

I N Q U I R I E S

w w w . a b s . g o v . a u

9 September 2010August 2010

12 August 2010July 2010

8 July 2010June 2010

10 June 2010May 2010

13 May 2010April 2010

8 April 2010March 2010

RELEASE DATEISSUEFO R T H C O M I N G I S S U E S

Pe t e r Ha r p e r

Ac t i n g Au s t r a l i a n S t a t i s t i c i a n

0.3 ptsto–0.5 pts–0.1 ptParticipation rate0.3 ptsto–0.1 pt0.1 ptUnemployment rate43 900to–22 50010 700Total Unemployment53 600to–52 800400Total Employment

95%

Confidence

interval

95%

Confidence

interval

95%

Confidence

interval

Monthly

change

MOVEMENTS IN SEASONALLY ADJUSTED SERIES BETWEEN JANUARY 2010 AND FEBRUARY 2010

The estimates in this publication are based on a sample survey. Therefore, published

estimates and the movements derived from them are subject to sampling variability.

Standard errors give a measure of this variability, see pages 33 and 34. The interval

bounded by two standard errors is the 95% confidence interval, which provides a way of

looking at the variability inherent in estimates. This represents a 95% chance that the

true value of the estimate lies within that interval.

SA M P L I N G ER R O R

Estimates of monthly change shown on the front cover have been calculated using

unrounded estimates, and may be different from, but are more accurate than,

movements obtained from the rounded estimates. The graphs on the front cover also

depict unrounded estimates.

RO U N D I N G

From the March 2010 issue, the ABS will introduce a seasonally adjusted quarterly

measure of aggregate monthly hours worked based on four industry sectors; specifically,

market (agriculture and rest of market) and non-market (education and rest of

non-market). See article Expansion of aggregate monthly hours worked in the January

2010 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0).

FU R T H E R DE V E L O P M E N T S

IN AG G R E G A T E MO N T H L Y

HO U R S WO R K E D

This issue includes trend and seasonally adjusted measures of aggregate monthly hours

worked by full time and part time employment, by males and females; together with an

expansion in the historical series to include estimates from July 1978. See article

Expansion of aggregate monthly hours worked in the January 2010 issue of Labour

Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0).

CH A N G E S TH I S MO N T H

2 A B S • L A B O U R FO R C E • 6 2 0 2 . 0 • F E B 2 0 1 0

N O T E S

Feb2000

Feb2002

Feb2004

Feb2006

Feb2008

Feb2010

million

1300

1400

1500

1600

The trend estimate of total aggregate hours worked fell from 1,331 million hours in

February 2000 to 1,315 million in November 2001. The trend then generally rose to

1,552 million hours in July 2008 before falling to 1,514 million hours in June 2009. The

trend has since risen to stand at 1,540 million hours in February 2010.

TO T A L

Feb2000

Feb2002

Feb2004

Feb2006

Feb2008

Feb2010

million

140

180

220

260

The trend estimate of part time aggregate hours worked has steadily risen from

158 million hours in February 2000 to 231 million hours in February 2010.

PA R T T I M E

Feb2000

Feb2002

Feb2004

Feb2006

Feb2008

Feb2010

million

1100

1200

1300

1400

The trend estimates of full time aggregate hours worked fell from 1,173 million hours in

February 2000 to 1,143 million hours in November 2001. The trend then generally rose

to 1,337 million hours in July 2008, before falling to 1,293 million hours in July 2009,

before rising to stand at 1,309 million hours in February 2010.

FU L L T I M E

A B S • L A B O U R FO R C E • 6 2 0 2 . 0 • F E B 2 0 1 0 3

A G G R E G A T E M O N T H L Y H O U R S W O R K E D T R E N D ES T I M A T E S

Feb2000

Feb2002

Feb2004

Feb2006

Feb2008

Feb2010

%

5

6

7

8

9

The trend estimate of the underemployment rate for persons rose from 6.8% in

February 2000 to 7.4% in November 2001. The trend then generally fell to 5.9% in

May 2008 before rising to 7.8% in August 2009. The trend has since fallen to 7.7% in

February 2010.

PE R S O N S

Feb2000

Feb2002

Feb2004

Feb2006

Feb2008

Feb2010

%

7

8

9

10

11

The trend estimate of the underemployment rate for females fell from 8.8% in

February 2000 to 8.5% in February 2001. The trend then generally rose to 9.7% in

May 2004 before falling to 7.8% in May 2008. The trend has since risen to stand at 9.8% in

February 2010.

FE M A L E S

Feb2000

Feb2002

Feb2004

Feb2006

Feb2008

Feb2010

%

3

4

5

6

7

The trend estimate of the underemployment rate for males generally rose from 4.7% in

February 2000 to 5.6% in November 2001 before falling to 4.2% in May 2008. The trend

then rose to 6.2% in August 2009 before falling to 5.8% in February 2010.

MA L E S


U N D E R E M P L O Y M E N T R A T E T R E N D ES T I M A T E S

Feb2000

Feb2002

Feb2004

Feb2006

Feb2008

Feb2010

%

8

10

12

14

16

The trend estimate of the underutilisation rate for persons generally rose from 13.0% in

February 2000 to 14.2% in November 2001. The trend then generally fell to 10.0% in

May 2008 before rising to 13.6% in August 2009. The trend has since fallen to 13.0% in

February 2010.

PE R S O N S

Feb2000

Feb2002

Feb2004

Feb2006

Feb2008

Feb2010

%

12

13

14

15

16

17

The trend estimate of underutilisation rate for females fell from 15.2% in February 2000

to 14.5% in November 2000, the trend then rose to 16.1% in November 2001. The trend

then generally fell to 12.3% in May 2008. The trend then rose to 15.3% in August 2009

before falling to 15.2% in February 2010.

FE M A L E S

Feb2000

Feb2002

Feb2004

Feb2006

Feb2008

Feb2010

%

6

8

10

12

14

The trend estimate of underutilisation rate for males rose from 11.2% in February 2000 to

12.8% in November 2001. The trend then fell to 8.0% in May 2008 before rising to 12.1%

in August 2009. The trend then fell to 11.3% in February 2010.

MA L E S


L A B O U R F O R C E U N D E R U T I L I S A T I O N R A T E T R E N D ES T I M A T E S

65.25.35.511 586.3614.7446.010 971.63 312.57 659.0February65.25.45.611 567.8623.0454.510 944.83 297.67 647.2January

2010

65.25.55.711 547.1632.6464.210 914.53 280.87 633.7December65.25.65.911 523.4642.5474.310 880.93 262.67 618.2November65.25.76.011 498.2651.8483.810 846.43 244.77 601.7October65.25.76.111 474.5658.9491.510 815.63 226.97 588.7September65.25.86.111 455.1662.2495.110 792.93 208.57 584.5August65.35.86.111 442.4662.3494.510 780.13 191.07 589.1July65.35.86.111 434.9660.1490.510 774.83 173.97 600.9June65.45.76.011 428.7654.3482.610 774.43 157.77 616.7May65.45.65.811 419.0642.1469.310 776.93 143.67 633.3April65.45.55.611 403.5622.1450.210 781.43 132.57 648.9March65.45.25.311 383.0595.8426.610 787.23 124.07 663.2February

200965.44.13.911 183.2463.3312.710 719.93 049.37 670.6February 200865.04.54.410 926.8491.3345.210 435.52 959.37 476.2February 2007

PE R S O N S


2010



FE M A L E S


2010

72.25.55.46 301.3348.6282.35 952.7996.94 955.8December72.25.75.56 285.9355.7289.45 930.1988.74 941.5November72.25.85.76 270.6363.1296.65 907.5980.24 927.3October72.15.95.86 256.5369.9303.25 886.6971.44 915.2September72.16.05.96 244.6374.4307.35 870.2962.54 907.7August72.16.05.96 234.8375.7308.25 859.0954.14 904.9July72.26.05.96 226.0373.9305.95 852.0946.14 905.9June72.25.95.86 217.6368.8300.65 848.8937.34 911.5May72.25.85.66 209.5359.3291.65 850.1928.04 922.1April72.25.65.36 201.5344.8278.35 856.7918.44 938.3March72.25.35.06 194.2326.5261.75 867.7909.04 958.7February

200972.73.93.56 113.8236.3182.25 877.5902.84 974.7February 200872.44.23.95 982.3248.9198.05 733.4865.64 867.8February 2007

MA L E S

%%%'000'000'000'000'000'000

Total

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Part

time

Full

time

Participation

rate

UNEMPLOYMENTRATE

Labour force

UNEMPLOYEDEMPLOYED

LABOUR FORCE STATUS (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER) : Trend1



2010



PE R S O N S


2010



FE M A L E S

72.35.45.26 335.1340.5274.35 994.6999.24 995.3February72.35.24.96 321.2326.0258.45 995.21 026.44 968.7January

2010

72.25.55.46 302.9349.7284.75 953.1995.94 957.2December72.25.85.66 283.3362.7294.55 920.7980.44 940.3November72.15.95.86 266.6369.6303.95 897.0978.04 918.9October72.15.85.76 254.2361.2298.45 892.9969.94 923.0September72.15.95.76 243.1369.7299.25 873.4966.64 906.8August72.36.16.06 245.6383.3314.05 862.3965.74 896.6July72.06.06.06 214.4375.7310.55 838.7931.64 907.1June72.26.05.96 221.1372.9306.25 848.2940.44 907.9May72.25.65.36 211.8347.8278.25 864.0917.84 946.1April72.25.75.56 202.0354.5284.85 847.5936.54 911.0March72.25.35.16 193.2329.6267.25 863.6910.24 953.4February

200972.63.63.26 106.0219.8166.15 886.2900.04 986.2February 200872.44.34.05 982.2255.6202.55 726.6861.44 865.3February 2007

MA L E S

%%%'000'000'000'000'000'000

Total

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Part

time

Full

time

Participation

rate

UNEMPLOYMENTRATE

Labour force

UNEMPLOYEDEMPLOYED

LABOUR FORCE STATUS (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER) : Seasona l l y Adjus ted2


65.56.06.117 779.36 141.711 637.6693.3498.510 944.43 244.27 700.2February64.95.76.017 738.36 231.611 506.7656.6490.110 850.13 195.07 655.1January

2010

65.95.35.517 697.26 029.111 668.2621.1448.811 047.13 290.17 757.0December64.85.25.517 662.26 219.011 443.2594.5446.710 848.83 211.77 637.0November65.15.45.717 627.26 157.111 470.1616.9457.710 853.23 292.07 561.2October65.65.65.917 592.26 056.311 535.9650.6481.710 885.23 198.17 687.1September64.55.55.717 562.96 232.611 330.4623.9453.410 706.53 219.17 487.4August65.15.35.717 533.76 120.911 412.8605.8457.310 807.03 201.27 605.8July65.35.76.217 504.46 081.711 422.7653.8502.610 768.93 223.17 545.8June65.55.86.217 481.46 032.011 449.4667.8499.610 781.63 191.67 590.1May65.45.65.717 458.46 033.311 425.1640.2460.910 784.83 172.17 612.7April65.86.16.017 435.45 968.311 467.1696.7482.110 770.43 194.97 575.5March65.86.06.017 407.75 950.211 457.5686.6495.310 770.93 073.77 697.2February

200965.54.54.117 095.35 889.811 205.5502.3333.310 703.22 964.67 738.6February 200865.35.25.016 801.75 831.810 969.9572.0392.210 397.92 884.47 513.5February 2007

PE R S O N S

58.56.16.99 012.03 736.85 275.2319.8198.94 955.52 275.72 679.7February57.95.77.08 992.13 790.05 202.1297.3203.14 904.72 210.82 693.9January

2010

59.25.36.08 972.13 664.55 307.7280.0174.45 027.72 290.12 737.6December58.25.06.08 955.03 739.65 215.4261.9173.24 953.62 254.92 698.7November58.45.26.28 937.93 721.65 216.3270.9174.24 945.42 293.12 652.3October58.95.56.58 920.73 666.35 254.4290.7189.34 963.72 240.62 723.1September57.85.46.28 906.53 757.25 149.2276.2172.14 873.02 260.42 612.7August58.34.95.88 892.23 705.55 186.7256.6167.14 930.12 236.02 694.0July58.75.36.58 878.03 666.95 211.0278.7184.74 932.42 265.72 666.7June58.95.46.38 866.83 645.75 221.1280.6180.84 940.52 236.32 704.3May58.85.56.28 855.73 650.85 204.9284.3177.74 920.62 233.52 687.1April59.26.16.58 844.83 605.35 239.5321.3187.14 918.22 234.12 684.1March59.36.26.98 831.53 596.35 235.2324.3202.84 910.92 191.92 718.9February

200958.55.15.28 680.33 599.65 080.7259.7151.04 821.02 093.72 727.3February 200858.25.86.18 537.63 570.24 967.3289.5169.34 677.82 052.12 625.8February 2007

FE M A L E S

72.65.95.68 767.32 404.96 362.4373.5299.65 988.9968.45 020.5February72.15.75.58 746.22 441.66 304.6359.2287.05 945.4984.24 961.2January

2010

72.95.45.28 725.12 364.66 360.5341.2274.36 019.31 000.05 019.4December71.55.35.28 707.22 479.46 227.8332.6273.55 895.2956.84 938.3November72.05.55.58 689.32 435.66 253.8346.0283.55 907.8998.94 908.9October72.45.75.68 671.42 390.06 281.5359.9292.45 921.6957.54 964.0September71.45.65.58 656.42 475.36 181.1347.6281.35 833.5958.84 874.7August72.05.65.68 641.52 415.36 226.1349.1290.25 877.0965.24 911.8July72.06.06.18 626.52 414.86 211.7375.1317.95 836.6957.54 879.1June72.36.26.18 614.62 386.36 228.2387.1318.75 841.1955.34 885.8May72.35.75.48 602.72 382.56 220.2356.0283.25 864.2938.64 925.6April72.56.05.78 590.52 363.06 227.6375.4295.05 852.1960.84 891.3March72.65.85.58 576.22 353.96 222.3362.3292.45 860.1881.84 978.3February

200972.84.03.58 415.02 290.26 124.8242.6182.35 882.2870.95 011.3February 200872.64.74.48 264.12 261.56 002.5282.5222.95 720.1832.44 887.7February 2007

MA L E S

%%%'000'000'000'000'000'000'000'000

Total

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Part

time

Full

time

Participation

rate

UNEMPLOYMENTRATE

Civilian

population

aged 15

years

and over

Not in

labour

force

Labour

force

UNEMPLOYEDEMPLOYED

LABOUR FORCE STATUS (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER) : Or ig ina l3


5 770.063.15.4194.83 444.52 397.063.15.6202.33 436.62 405.7February5 758.763.15.6203.93 430.92 412.063.15.6205.33 429.82 405.7January

2010

5 747.363.35.8211.63 423.72 409.963.25.7208.23 423.72 406.4December5 737.663.25.9214.73 413.82 407.763.25.8210.83 417.72 406.7November5 727.963.46.1221.83 411.22 404.263.35.9213.13 412.92 406.9October5 718.163.15.5198.53 407.72 403.263.45.9215.43 409.72 407.7September5 710.663.46.1220.23 401.12 405.763.56.0218.23 407.12 408.8August5 703.163.96.0220.13 422.42 421.363.66.1222.33 403.82 410.0July5 695.563.76.4233.03 394.52 407.663.76.3227.23 399.42 412.0June5 689.763.76.4230.53 393.52 420.263.76.4230.83 394.82 414.9May5 683.963.66.1220.43 393.12 412.063.76.4230.83 391.42 419.2April5 677.563.86.8245.53 378.12 416.463.76.3226.13 390.32 424.5March5 670.663.76.1220.13 393.02 432.463.66.0217.43 391.82 430.6February

20095 593.363.94.2151.83 422.62 462.264.04.5159.53 417.62 469.8February 20085 517.663.35.3184.23 308.42 393.263.35.0175.23 315.72 389.5February 2007

PE R S O N S

2 940.455.95.488.31 556.1825.156.05.488.11 558.3836.3February2 934.656.25.488.61 559.4846.056.15.489.51 557.0839.4January

2010

2 928.956.25.489.61 555.8842.956.25.590.91 556.0843.6December2 924.056.45.793.21 556.6852.356.35.692.51 554.7847.4November2 919.056.65.998.11 553.4851.156.45.794.31 553.6851.1October2 914.156.35.590.51 550.5849.656.65.896.11 552.9855.0September2 910.356.66.1100.51 548.0854.156.75.997.91 552.9859.5August2 906.657.05.997.61 558.5873.056.96.0100.01 553.0864.5July2 902.957.26.4106.21 553.0865.657.06.2102.41 553.1870.2June2 899.957.16.1100.31 554.4880.557.16.3104.21 552.7875.6May2 897.057.06.099.51 552.8877.157.26.3104.51 551.7880.4April2 893.757.37.0115.91 543.6882.057.16.2103.11 550.3883.0March2 890.257.26.2101.91 550.9880.857.06.1100.21 548.2883.3February

20092 851.656.94.573.51 548.0880.256.94.675.21 546.4883.5February 20082 814.255.95.789.01 483.7844.656.05.688.61 487.5842.3February 2007

FE M A L E S


2010



MA L E S

'000%%'000'000'000%%'000'000'000

Partici-

pation

rate

Unemp-

loyment

rate

Total

unemp-

loyed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Partici-

pation

rate

Unemp-

loyment

rate

Total

unemp-

loyed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Civilian

population

aged 15

years

and over

SEASONALLY ADJUSTEDTREND

LABOUR FORCE STATUS (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER)— New South Wales4



2010



PE R S O N S


2010



FE M A L E S


2010



MA L E S

'000%%'000'000'000%%'000'000'000

Partici-

pation

rate

Unemp-

loyment

rate

Total

unemp-

loyed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Partici-

pation

rate

Unemp-

loyment

rate

Total

unemp-

loyed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Civilian

population

aged 15

years

and over


LABOUR FORCE STATUS (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER)— Victo r ia5



2010



PE R S O N S


2010


20091 707.560.64.243.9990.6555.560.64.243.8990.6555.0February 20081 672.761.15.050.8972.0554.860.84.545.7971.8554.3February 2007

FE M A L E S


2010



MA L E S

'000%%'000'000'000%%'000'000'000

Partici-

pation

rate

Unemp-

loyment

rate

Total

unemp-

loyed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Partici-

pation

rate

Unemp-

loyment

rate

Total

unemp-

loyed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Civilian

population

aged 15

years

and over


LABOUR FORCE STATUS (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER)— Queens land6


1 336.763.24.740.0805.1540.663.24.739.6805.1538.0February1 334.863.54.437.2810.1536.563.24.940.9802.7535.4January

2010

1 332.962.85.344.1793.2533.863.25.042.5800.1532.5December1 331.463.25.445.8796.1526.163.25.244.2797.4529.6November1 329.963.25.243.9796.3523.363.25.445.6794.7526.8October1 328.363.85.647.8799.1536.063.25.646.6792.7525.1September1 327.162.75.848.1783.5516.563.25.647.0791.9525.6August1 325.963.25.647.1790.8524.063.35.646.9792.0528.2July1 324.763.35.445.6792.9531.563.45.646.9792.5531.8June1 323.663.65.445.6795.9539.063.55.647.2792.6535.3May1 322.563.85.647.2796.9545.863.55.747.5792.4537.8April1 321.363.45.949.4788.4538.063.55.747.7791.7539.3March1 320.063.65.848.6790.5535.063.55.747.7790.9539.9February

20091 304.763.14.536.9786.2542.063.14.738.6785.2541.0February 20081 289.362.55.040.6765.2523.662.55.242.1763.3521.7February 2007

PE R S O N S

682.156.84.818.5368.7183.456.65.019.3366.7182.4February681.256.94.918.9368.7182.756.65.119.6366.2181.6January

2010

680.356.15.621.3360.0180.656.75.119.7366.0181.0December679.556.95.220.1366.3179.856.85.119.8366.1180.6November678.857.14.919.0368.8178.256.95.119.8366.4180.5October678.057.35.019.5368.7183.957.15.119.6367.2181.0September677.456.75.220.1364.2178.657.35.019.4368.7182.2August676.857.64.919.1370.6185.157.54.919.1370.3183.7July676.257.74.918.9371.3185.057.84.919.1371.6184.9June675.658.14.818.9373.4185.757.95.019.4371.8185.5May675.158.55.019.6375.2186.957.95.119.9371.0185.1April674.557.65.320.7367.5184.357.85.320.6368.9183.6March673.957.55.521.5365.8181.657.55.521.4366.2181.7February

2009666.356.64.818.1359.1188.856.34.617.4357.8187.8February 2008658.656.14.616.8352.7179.056.24.817.9352.0177.4February 2007

FE M A L E S


2010



MA L E S

'000%%'000'000'000%%'000'000'000

Partici-

pation

rate

Unemp-

loyment

rate

Total

unemp-

loyed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Partici-

pation

rate

Unemp-

loyment

rate

Total

unemp-

loyed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Civilian

population

aged 15

years

and over


LABOUR FORCE STATUS (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER)— South Aust ra l ia7



2010



PE R S O N S


2010



FE M A L E S


2010



MA L E S

'000%%'000'000'000%%'000'000'000

Partici-

pation

rate

Unemp-

loyment

rate

Total

unemp-

loyed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Partici-

pation

rate

Unemp-

loyment

rate

Total

unemp-

loyed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Civilian

population

aged 15

years

and over


LABOUR FORCE STATUS (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER)— Western Aust ra l ia8



2010



PE R S O N S


2010



FE M A L E S


2010



MA L E S

'000%%'000'000'000%%'000'000'000

Partici-

pation

rate

Unemp-

loyment

rate

Total

unemp-

loyed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Partici-

pation

rate

Unemp-

loyment

rate

Total

unemp-

loyed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Civilian

population

aged 15

years

and over


LABOUR FORCE STATUS (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER)— Tasman ia9


169.174.03.24.0120.997.2February168.774.13.34.1121.097.2January

2010

168.374.23.34.2120.897.1December168.074.23.54.3120.396.7November167.774.13.64.5119.796.2October167.474.13.84.7119.295.9September166.974.24.04.9119.095.9August166.474.54.15.0119.096.3July165.974.94.15.1119.396.9June165.675.24.05.0119.697.3May165.475.24.04.9119.597.3April165.174.83.94.9118.796.5March164.874.24.04.9117.495.2February

2009160.773.14.65.4112.188.5February 2008156.670.13.43.7106.084.4February 2007

PE R S O N S


2010



FE M A L E S


2010



MA L E S

'000%%'000'000'000

Participation

rate

Unemployment

rate

Total

unemployed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Civilian

population

aged 15

years

and over

TREND

LABOUR FORCE STATUS (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER)— Northern Ter r i to r y10



2010



PE R S O N S


2010



FE M A L E S


2010



MA L E S

'000%%'000'000'000

Participation

rate

Unemployment

rate

Total

unemployed

Total

employed

Employed

full time

Civilian

population

aged 15

years

and over

TREND

LABOUR FORCE STATUS (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER)— Aust ra l ian Cap i ta l Ter r i to ry11


* estimate is subject to sampling variability too high for most practical purposes

65.56.06.117 779.36 141.711 637.6693.3498.510 944.43 244.27 700.2Australia

73.94.53.5282.173.7208.49.45.3199.051.6147.4Australian Capital Territory71.43.43.6169.148.4120.74.13.5116.622.594.1Northern Territory61.77.47.4408.6156.5252.118.712.4233.578.0155.5Tasmania68.85.75.81 819.5568.41 251.171.651.31 179.5345.4834.1Western Australia63.75.35.41 336.7485.6851.144.931.4806.1260.6545.5South Australia67.66.66.73 545.51 149.72 395.8157.3115.02 238.5629.81 608.8Queensland65.55.95.94 447.81 536.22 911.7171.1119.12 740.5842.31 898.2Victoria63.25.96.25 770.02 123.23 646.7216.1160.53 430.61 014.02 416.6New South Wales

PE R S O N S

58.56.16.99 012.03 736.85 275.2319.8198.94 955.52 275.72 679.7Australia

69.63.8*2.9144.143.8100.33.9*1.896.435.860.7Australian Capital Territory65.22.9*3.082.928.854.11.6*1.252.515.037.5Northern Territory56.77.58.1209.090.5118.58.94.6109.657.352.3Tasmania60.86.07.4899.9353.0546.932.621.4514.3247.0267.3Western Australia57.15.46.5682.1292.8389.320.912.8368.4183.4185.0South Australia61.36.36.91 789.5691.81 097.669.642.51 028.0453.2574.9Queensland58.36.06.72 264.2944.21 319.979.547.81 240.5572.0668.5Victoria56.16.27.42 940.41 291.81 648.5102.866.81 545.8712.1833.6New South Wales

FE M A L E S

72.65.95.68 767.32 404.96 362.4373.5299.65 988.9968.45 020.5Australia

78.35.13.9138.029.9108.15.53.5102.615.886.8Australian Capital Territory77.33.83.986.219.666.62.62.364.17.556.6Northern Territory66.97.37.0199.666.0133.69.77.8123.920.7103.2Tasmania76.65.55.0919.6215.4704.238.929.9665.398.4566.8Western Australia70.55.24.9654.6192.8461.824.018.6437.877.2360.6South Australia73.96.86.61 756.0457.91 298.287.772.51 210.5176.61 033.9Queensland72.95.85.52 183.6591.91 591.791.771.31 500.0270.31 229.7Victoria70.65.75.62 829.6831.41 998.2113.493.71 884.9301.91 582.9New South Wales

MA L E S

%%%'000'000'000'000'000'000'000'000

Total

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Part

time

Full

time

Participation

rate

UNEMPLOYMENTRATE

Civilian

population

aged 15

years

and over

Not in

labour

force

Labour

force

UNEMPLOYEDEMPLOYED

LABOUR FORCE STATUS (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER) , States & ter r i to r ies :

Or ig i na l —February 2010 12


4.447.356.416.123.5135.966.0705.5214.3February4.547.456.516.123.6135.766.6706.7214.9January

2010

4.647.456.616.123.9136.067.8706.4215.2December4.647.456.616.224.2136.468.8705.4215.2November4.747.356.616.324.5137.369.7702.8214.6October4.847.156.516.624.8138.770.6699.1213.8September4.847.056.416.825.0140.571.4695.5213.8August4.946.956.617.025.1142.372.3694.2215.0July5.047.156.817.125.3143.873.4695.6217.1June5.047.457.217.125.3144.374.3699.6219.9May5.047.857.516.824.9142.673.9704.8222.7April4.848.257.616.324.0138.371.3710.8225.3March4.548.757.715.622.6132.766.9716.8227.9February

20093.752.360.012.916.9112.554.1760.0266.0February 20084.051.059.113.819.3116.757.5728.6240.3February 2007

PE R S O N S


2010



FE M A L E S


2010



MA L E S

%%%%%'000'000'000'000

Total

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Full

time

Unemployment

to population

ratio – looking

for full-time

work

Employment

to

population

ratio

Participation

rate

UNEMPLOYMENTRATEUNEMPLOYEDEMPLOYED

PERSONS AGED 15– 19 YEARS, Labour Force Status : Trend13



2010



PE R S O N S


2010



FE M A L E S


2010



MA L E S

%%%%%'000'000'000'000

Total

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Full

time

Unemployment

to population

ratio – looking

for full-time

work

Employment

to

population

ratio

Participation

rate

UNEMPLOYMENTRATEUNEMPLOYEDEMPLOYED

PERSONS AGED 15– 19 YEARS, Labour Force Status : Seasona l l y Ad jus ted14



4.958.018.124.41 492.8627.4865.4156.373.0709.1483.3225.8February 20105.759.717.726.21 473.0593.7879.3155.584.3723.9487.1236.8February 20093.961.013.516.81 454.4566.7887.7119.557.4768.2483.5284.7February 20084.760.415.721.31 430.1566.5863.6136.067.2727.6478.8248.8February 2007

Persons

4.760.017.129.0729.1291.5437.674.934.0362.7279.783.0February 20104.560.115.928.8718.4286.7431.768.532.3363.2283.379.9February 20093.960.813.922.1708.7277.8430.959.827.4371.2274.796.5February 20084.461.915.725.5697.2265.9431.367.930.6363.5274.089.5February 2007

Females


Males

TO T A L

1.546.418.836.81 027.8550.5477.389.615.6387.7360.826.9February 20101.247.615.734.4999.0523.7475.474.612.0400.8377.922.9February 20090.948.713.821.5964.0494.1469.964.89.1405.1371.833.3February 20081.448.015.934.9967.0503.1463.873.913.3390.0365.324.7February 2007

Persons

1.551.116.237.0516.0252.1263.942.87.5221.2208.412.8February 2010*0.951.713.1*32.3512.9248.0264.934.6*4.9230.3220.110.2February 2009*1.052.213.1*23.4500.6239.4261.234.3*5.0226.9210.416.4February 20081.653.215.136.2495.7231.9263.739.77.7224.0210.413.6February 2007

Females

1.641.722.036.5511.8298.4213.446.98.1166.5152.414.1February 2010*1.543.319.0*36.1486.1275.7210.440.0*7.1170.5157.812.6February 2009*0.945.014.6*19.6463.4254.7208.730.5*4.1178.2161.316.9February 20081.242.517.133.3471.3271.2200.134.25.5165.9154.811.1February 2007

Males

AT T E N D I N G FU L L - T I M E ED U C A T I O N

12.383.517.222.4464.976.9388.066.757.3321.4122.5198.9February 201015.285.220.025.3473.970.0403.980.972.3323.1109.2213.9February 2009


Persons


Females



Males

NO T AT T E N D I N G FU L L - T I M E ED U C A T I O N

%%%%'000'000'000'000'000'000'000'000

Total

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Part

time

Full

time

Unemployment

to population

ratio – looking

for full-time

work

Participation

rate

UNEMPLOYMENTRATE

Civilian

population

aged

15–19

years

Not in

labour

force

Labour

force

UNEMPLOYEDEMPLOYED

PERSONS AGED 15– 19 YEARS, Educat ion & Labour Force Status : Or ig ina l15



4.958.018.124.41 492.8627.4865.4156.373.0709.1483.3225.8Australia

*3.063.514.6*18.523.38.514.82.2*0.712.69.63.1Australian Capital Territory*3.949.7*12.1*14.816.28.18.0*1.0*0.67.13.43.7Northern Territory*4.163.117.8*17.434.912.922.03.9*1.418.111.46.7Tasmania4.761.916.218.4156.159.496.715.77.481.048.232.8Western Australia5.060.517.224.5107.642.565.111.25.353.937.416.5South Australia6.363.418.225.7311.5114.1197.436.019.6161.5104.856.6Queensland4.054.119.130.5364.7167.6197.237.714.7159.4126.133.4Victoria4.955.218.424.1478.5214.3264.248.623.2215.5142.473.1New South Wales

TO T A L

1.546.418.836.81 027.8550.5477.389.615.6387.7360.826.9Australia

*1.755.8*14.5*43.717.27.69.6*1.4*0.38.27.8*0.4Australian Capital Territory*1.034.6*11.2*16.28.95.83.1*0.3*0.12.72.2*0.5Northern Territory*2.850.126.4*54.322.711.311.43.0*0.68.47.8*0.5Tasmania*0.648.615.6*16.397.250.047.27.4*0.639.936.9*3.0Western Australia*1.248.216.7*25.372.237.434.85.8*0.929.026.42.6South Australia*2.651.519.9*48.4194.394.2100.119.9*5.180.274.85.4Queensland*1.446.419.0*48.9287.1153.8133.325.3*4.0108.1103.9*4.2Victoria*1.342.019.3*28.4328.3190.5137.826.5*4.1111.3100.910.4New South Wales

AT T E N D I N G FU L L - T I M E ED U C A T I O N

12.383.517.222.4464.976.9388.066.757.3321.4122.5198.9Australia

*6.885.1*14.6*13.36.1*0.95.2*0.8*0.44.41.72.7Australian Capital Territory*7.568.0*12.7*14.67.32.35.0*0.6*0.54.31.13.2Northern Territory*6.587.1*8.7*11.412.21.610.6*0.9*0.89.73.66.2Tasmania11.583.916.818.658.99.549.48.36.841.111.329.8Western Australia12.685.617.924.335.45.130.35.44.524.911.013.9South Australia12.483.016.522.1117.219.997.416.114.681.330.051.3Queensland13.882.219.526.877.613.863.812.510.751.422.229.2Victoria12.784.117.523.4150.223.8126.322.119.1104.241.662.7New South Wales

NO T AT T E N D I N G FU L L - T I M E ED U C A T I O N

%%%%'000'000'000'000'000'000'000'000

Total

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Looking

for f/t

workTotal

Part

time

Full

time

Unemployment

to population

ratio – looking

for full-time

work

Participation

rate

UNEMPLOYMENTRATE

Civilian

population

aged

15–19

years

Not in

labour

force

Labour

force

UNEMPLOYEDEMPLOYED

PERSONS AGED 15– 19 YEARS, States & ter r i to r ies : Or ig ina l —February 201016


(a) Gross flows figures do not match published labour force estimates. Refer to gross flows in Glossary.

14 0224 6669 3565288 8282 6046 224Matched Civilian

Population

4 7554 31344217227018882Not in Labour Force9 2683538 9153578 5582 4166 142Labour Force

5141134012761257155Unemployed Total8 7542408 514818 4332 3456 087Employed Total2 5821522 430472 3832 047337Employed Part time6 172886 084346 0502995 751Employed Full time

PE R S O N S

7 0702 8264 2432483 9951 8312 164Matched Civilian

Population

2 8922 6332599516413331Not in Labour Force4 1781943 9841533 8311 6982 133Labour Force

23861176116604119Unemployed Total3 9401333 808363 7711 6572 114Employed Total1 788941 694251 6691 479190Employed Part time2 152392 113112 1021781 924Employed Full time

FE M A L E S

6 9531 8395 1132804 8337734 060Matched Civilian

Population

1 8631 680182761065551Not in Labour Force5 0901594 9312044 7277184 009Labour Force

27652225159653035Unemployed Total4 8141084 706454 6626883 973Employed Total

7945873621715568147Employed Part time4 020493 970233 9471213 826Employed Full time

MA L E S

'000'000'000'000'000'000'000

Matched

Civilian

Population

Not in

Labour

Force

Labour

ForceUnemployed

Employed

Total

Employed

Part time

Employed

Full time

LABOUR FORCE STATUS IN FEBRUARY 2010

Labou r fo r ce sta tu s in

Janua r y 2010

LABOUR FORCE STATUS GROSS FLOWS (a) , Matched records January 2010 and February

2010 : Or ig ina l17


1 553.2232.21 321.01 539.6231.01 308.7February1 517.4230.51 286.91 536.9230.11 306.7January

2010

1 535.9228.11 307.81 533.6229.11 304.4December1 537.3227.81 309.51 530.0228.11 301.9November1 527.4227.11 300.31 526.1227.01 299.1October1 525.3226.31 299.11 522.0225.71 296.3September1 511.0225.71 285.31 518.5224.21 294.3August1 511.6222.51 289.11 515.7222.71 293.1July1 521.3220.11 301.21 514.5221.21 293.3June1 511.5218.71 292.81 515.6219.91 295.6May1 522.1218.61 303.51 518.1219.01 299.1April1 518.7220.91 297.81 521.5218.41 303.1March1 521.7218.51 303.21 525.3218.01 307.3February

20091 537.2214.71 322.51 533.9214.71 319.2February 20081 490.9206.01 284.91 488.2206.71 281.6February 2007

PE R S O N S


2010



FE M A L E S


2010



MA L E S

millionsmillionsmillionsmillionsmillionsmillions

Total

Part

time

Full

timeTotal

Part

time

Full

time


AGGREGATE MONTHLY HOURS WORKED18


(a) Seasonally adjusted and trend data are compiled using estimates only from the quarter months (i.e. February, May, August and November), and therefore may differfrom the official monthly estimates produced in Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0).

13.87.8910.312.87.6872.613.07.7883.2February2010

12.97.7883.213.47.8894.913.47.7888.6November13.17.6859.113.67.8889.813.67.8890.3August13.57.7879.613.57.7875.013.47.7874.2May13.67.6874.112.77.4839.112.47.2815.9February

2009

10.56.4719.011.06.4727.611.26.5739.6November9.65.7634.910.05.9658.610.36.0678.7August

200810.66.2690.29.96.0662.910.26.0667.3February 200811.96.7735.111.16.5708.910.96.4700.6February 200712.66.9736.611.86.7714.111.76.7716.3February 2006

PE R S O N S

16.110.1530.414.99.8510.315.29.9515.0February2010


2009

12.98.5434.313.48.5435.313.58.6444.6November11.97.7388.912.58.0406.812.88.1415.4August

200813.18.0406.512.17.8392.112.57.9399.2February 200814.48.6427.813.48.4413.913.28.4413.6February 200715.29.3446.414.29.1433.914.09.0432.5February 2006

FE M A L E S

11.86.0379.911.15.8362.311.35.8368.2February2010


2009

8.54.6284.78.94.8292.39.24.8295.0November7.64.0246.07.94.1251.88.24.3263.3August


10.54.9290.29.94.8280.29.84.9283.8February 2006

MA L E S

%%'000%%'000%%'000

Labour

force under-

utilisation rate

Under-

employment

rate

Under-

employed

workers

Labour

force under-

utilisation rate

Under-

employment

rate

Under-

employed

workers

Labour

force under-

utilisation rate

Under-

employment

rate

Under-

employed

workers

ORIGINALSEASONALLY ADJUSTEDTREND

LABOUR UNDERUT IL ISAT ION (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER) (a) —February 2010 19


(a) Seasonally adjusted and trend data are compiled using estimates only from the quarter months (i.e. February, May, August and November), and therefore may differ fromthe official monthly estimates produced in Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0).

13.87.8910.312.87.6872.613.07.7883.2Australia

11.16.513.610.16.012.49.55.611.6Australian Capital

Territory

7.44.04.86.53.54.36.83.84.7Northern Territory14.87.418.613.77.318.113.17.017.4Tasmania12.46.783.811.76.682.311.96.783.4Western Australia13.78.471.613.18.269.413.38.268.9South Australia14.47.8187.113.07.3174.813.87.9188.0Queensland13.98.0232.713.07.7222.713.07.7223.7Victoria14.18.2298.113.37.9287.313.47.8281.7New South Wales

PE R S O N S

16.110.1530.414.99.8510.315.29.9515.0Australia


Territory


FE M A L E S

11.86.0379.911.15.8362.311.35.8368.2Australia


Territory


MA L E S

%%'000%%'000%%'000

Labour

force under-

utilisation rate

Under-

employment

rate

Under-

employed

workers

Labour

force under-

utilisation rate

Under-

employment

rate

Under-

employed

workers

Labour

force under-

utilisation rate

Under-

employment

rate

Under-

employed

workers

ORIGINALSEASONALLY ADJUSTEDTREND

LABOUR UNDERUT IL ISAT ION (AGED 15 YEARS & OVER) (a) , States & ter r i to r ies

—February 201020


EF F E C T OF NE W SE A S O N A L L Y AD J U S T E D ES T I M A T E S ON TR E N D ES T I M A T E S

5.35.35.3February5.45.45.4January

2010

5.55.55.5December5.65.65.6November

2009

(2) 5.2 i.e.

falls by 2.10%

(1) 5.4 i.e.

rises by 2.10%

WHAT IF NEXT MONTH'SSEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATE IS:

Trend as

published

Aug2009

Oct Dec Feb2010

%

5.0

5.2

5.4

5.6

5.8

Published trend12

UN E M P L O Y M E N T RA T E

10 960.510 975.210 971.6February10 939.410 947.210 944.8January

2010

10 912.910 915.310 914.5December10 881.310 880.510 880.9November

2009

(2) 10 944.8 i.e.

falls by 0.24%

(1) 10 997.5 i.e.

rises by 0.24%

WHAT IF NEXT MONTH'S SEASONALLYADJUSTED ESTIMATE IS:

Trend as

published

Aug2009

Oct Dec Feb2010

'000

10770

10816

10862

10908

10954

11000Published trend12

EM P L O Y M E N T

Each time new seasonally adjusted estimates become available, trend estimates are

revised. This revision is a combined result of the concurrent seasonal adjustment process

and the application of surrogates of the Henderson average to the seasonally adjusted

series (see paragraphs 27 to 35 of the Explanatory Notes).

The examples in the tables below show two illustrative scenarios and the consequent

revisions to previous trend estimates of employment and the unemployment rate. The

revisions in the scenarios are due to the use of surrogates of the Henderson average, as

the impact of revision of seasonally adjusted estimates can not be estimated in advance.

(1) The March seasonally adjusted estimate is higher than the February estimate by:

0.24% for employment

2.10% for the unemployment rate

(2) The March seasonally adjusted estimate is lower than the February estimate by:

0.24% for employment

2.10% for the unemployment rate

The percentage changes of 0.24% and 2.10% represent the average absolute monthly

percentage changes in employment and the unemployment rate respectively. Estimates

in the graphs have been calculated using unrounded estimates, and may be different

from, but more accurate than, rounded estimates depicted in its corresponding table.

TR E N D RE V I S I O N S


W H A T I F . . . ? RE V I S I O N S TO TR E N D ES T I M A T E S

10 Labour Force Survey estimates are calculated in such a way as to add up to

independent estimates of the civilian population aged 15 years and over (population

benchmarks). These population benchmarks are projections of the most recently

released quarterly Estimated Resident Population (ERP) data. For information on the

PO P U L A T I O N BE N C H M A R K S

9 In the Labour Force Survey, coverage rules are applied which aim to ensure that each

person is associated with only one dwelling, and hence has only one chance of selection.

The coverage rules are necessarily a balance between theoretical and operational

considerations. Nevertheless, the chance of a person being enumerated at two separate

dwellings in the survey is considered to be negligible.

CO V E R A G E

8 The Labour Force Survey includes all persons aged 15 years and over except

members of the permanent defence forces, certain diplomatic personnel of overseas

governments customarily excluded from census and estimated population counts,

overseas residents in Australia, and members of non-Australian defence forces (and their

dependants) stationed in Australia.

SC O P E OF SU R V E Y

3 The Labour Force Survey is based on a multi-stage area sample of private dwellings

(currently approximately 29,000 houses, flats, etc.) and a list sample of non-private

dwellings (hotels, motels, etc.), and covers approximately 0.33% of the civilian

population of Australia aged 15 years and over.

4 Information is obtained from the occupants of selected dwellings by specially trained

interviewers using computer-assisted interviewing (CAI).

5 Households selected for the Labour Force Survey are interviewed each month for

eight months, with one-eighth of the sample being replaced each month. The first

interview is conducted face-to-face. Subsequent interviews are conducted by telephone

(if acceptable to the respondent).

6 The interviews are generally conducted during the two weeks beginning on the

Sunday between the 5th and 11th of each month. The information obtained relates to

the week before the interview (i.e. the reference week). Each year, to deal with

operational difficulties involved with collecting and processing the Labour Force Survey

around the Christmas and New Year holiday period, interviews for December start four

weeks after November interviews start, and January interviews start five weeks after

December interviews start. As a result, January interviewing may commence as early as

the 7th or as late as the 13th, depending on the year. Occasionally, circumstances that

present significant operational difficulties for survey collection can result in a change to

the normal pattern for the start of interviewing.

7 Estimates from the Labour Force Survey are published first in this publication 32 days

after the commencement of interviews for that month, with the exception of estimates

for each December which are published 39 days after the commencement of interviews.

LA B O U R FO R C E SU R V E Y

2 The conceptual framework used in Australia’s Labour Force Survey aligns closely with

the standards and guidelines set out in Resolutions of International Conferences of

Labour Statisticians. Descriptions of the underlying concepts and structure of Australia's

labour force statistics, and the sources and methods used in compiling the estimates, are

presented in Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 6102.0.55.001)

which is available on the ABS website <http://www.abs.gov.au>.

CO N C E P T S , SO U R C E S AN D

ME T H O D S

1 This publication contains estimates of the civilian labour force derived from the

Labour Force Survey component of the Monthly Population Survey. The full time series

for estimates from this publication are also available electronically. More detailed

estimates are released one week after this publication in various electronic formats – see

Labour Force, Australia, Detailed – Electronic Delivery (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001) and

Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly (cat. no. 6291.0.55.003).

I N T R O D U C T I O N


E X P L A N A T O R Y N O T E S

15 From April 1986, the definition of employed persons was changed to include

persons who worked without pay between 1 and 14 hours per week in a family business

or on a farm (i.e. contributing family workers). For further information, see

paragraphs 22 and 23 of the Explanatory Notes in the February 2003 issue of Labour

Force, Australia (cat. no. 6203.0).

16 The ABS introduced telephone interviewing into the Labour Force Survey in

August 1996. Implementation was phased in for each new sample group from

August 1996 to February 1997. During the period of implementation, the new method

produced different estimates than would have been obtained under the old

methodology. The effect dissipated over the final months of implementation and was no

CO M P A R A B I L I T Y OF SE R I E S

14 The estimation method used in the Labour Force Survey is Composite Estimation,

which was introduced in May 2007. Composite Estimation combines data collected in the

previous six months with current month's data to produce the current month's

estimates, thereby exploiting the high correlation between overlapping samples across

months in the Labour Force Survey. The Composite Estimator combines the previous

and current months' data by applying different factors according to length of time in the

survey. After these factors are applied, the seven months of data are weighted to align

with current month population benchmarks. For details see Information Paper:

Forthcoming Changes to Labour Force Statistics, 2007 (cat. no. 6292.0).

ES T I M A T I O N ME T H O D

methodology used to produce the ERP see Australian Demographic Statistics

(cat. no. 3101.0). To create the population benchmarks for the Labour Force Survey, the

most recently released quarterly ERP estimates are projected forward one quarter past

the period for which they are required. The projection is based on the historical pattern

of each population component - births, deaths, interstate migration and

net overseas migration (NOM). By projecting one quarter past that needed for the

current population benchmarks, demographic changes are smoothed in, thereby making

them less noticeable in the population benchmarks.

11 The ERP series are revised annually in the September quarter issue of Australian

Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0), released in March each year, to incorporate

more up to date information available for the population components. The revised ERP

estimates are used to update the quarterly population projections used in creating the

Labour Force Survey population benchmarks. Benchmarks already used in producing

Labour Force Survey estimates are not revised. A process of smoothing is used in the

creation of subsequent population benchmarks to reduce the effect of these annual

revisions to ERP estimates on the Labour Force Survey population benchmarks.

12 In the 2009 ERP revision cycle, final NOM data for the 2006–07 reference year were

incorporated, detailing a large revision to ERP. To prevent the ERP revision causing an

unduly large month to month movement in the labour force benchmark population, a

smoothing factor is applied to gradually incorporate the revised estimates. A result of

this smoothing method is that the Labour Force civilian population benchmarks will not

be comparable to the ERP published in Australian Demographic Statistics

(cat. no. 3101.0), pending the next labour force revision cycle.

13 Every five years, the ERP series are revised to incorporate additional information

available from the latest Census of Population and Housing. Following the incorporation

of Census information, the ERP series prior to the latest Census are final and subject to

no further revision. Labour Force Survey population benchmarks, and the estimates, are

revised following this 5-yearly revision in the ERP. From the February 2009 issue of this

publication, labour force estimates have been compiled using population benchmarks

based on the results of the 2006 Census of Population and Housing. Revisions were

made in the February 2009 issue to historical labour force estimates from

June 2001 to January 2009.

PO P U L A T I O N BE N C H M A R K S

continued


E X P L A N A T O R Y N O T E S continued

24 Two types of error are possible in an estimate based on a sample survey: sampling

error and non-sampling error.

RE L I A B I L I T Y OF ES T I M A T E S

20 The current Labour Force Survey sample has been selected using information

collected in the 2006 Census of Population and Housing.

21 The majority of this sample was phased in over the period November 2007 to

June 2008, with one-eighth of this portion of the sample being introduced every month.

The remainder of the sample (about 20% of the total), which covers less settled areas of

Australia and non-private dwellings was rotated in full for New South Wales, Western

Australia, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory in March 2008, and for

Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania in April 2008. Such a pattern of

implementation means that any changes to labour force estimates due to differences

between the two samples, or any other influences, were spread over the eight months.

22 As one of a range of ABS savings initiatives for the 2008–09 financial year, there was

a 24% reduction in the LFS sample size for the period July 2008 to August 2009, relative

to the June 2008 sample size. The sample reduction was reinstated from

September 2009 to December 2009, with December 2009 estimates being the first

produced under the fully reinstated sample.

23 For further details, see Information Paper: Labour Force Survey Sample Design

(cat. no. 6269.0).

LA B O U R FO R C E SU R V E Y

SA M P L E

longer discernible from February 1997. The estimates for February 1997 and onwards are

directly comparable to estimates for periods prior to August 1996. For further details, see

the feature article in the June 1997 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6203.0).

17 From April 2001 the Labour Force Survey has been conducted using a redesigned

questionnaire containing additional data items and some minor definitional changes.

The definition of unemployed persons was changed to include all persons who were

waiting to start work and were available to start in the reference week. This change was

introduced in February 2004, when historical unit record data were revised from

April 2001 to January 2004. This revision created a small trend break at April 2001 in

unemployed persons and unemployment rate series. For further details, see

Information Paper: Forthcoming Changes to Labour Force Statistics (cat. no. 6292.0),

released in December 2003.

18 Core labour force series were revised in April 2001 for the period

April 1986 to March 2001 for the remaining definitional changes introduced with the

redesigned questionnaire, to reduce the impact of the changes on labour force series.

For further details, see Information Paper: Implementing the Redesigned Labour Force

Survey Questionnaire (cat. no. 6295.0) and Information Paper: Questionnaires Used in

the Labour Force Survey (cat. no. 6232.0).

19 In May 2007, an improved method of estimation, known as composite estimation,

was introduced into the Labour Force Survey. In introducing this change, the ABS

revised unit record data from April 2001 to April 2007 based on the new estimation

method. While estimates for periods prior to April 2001 are unrevised and were

compiled using a different estimation method, no trend break was identified in the

employed persons series. Also, no change was identified in the trend breaks in the

unemployed persons and unemployment rate series which arose with the introduction

of a redesigned survey form in April 2001 (as noted above in paragraph 16). For further

details, see Information Paper: Forthcoming Changes to Labour Force Statistics, 2007

(cat. no. 6292.0).

CO M P A R A B I L I T Y OF SE R I E S

continued



27 Seasonal adjustment is a means of removing the estimated effects of normal

seasonal variation from the series so that the effects of other influences on the series can

be more clearly recognised. Seasonal adjustment does not aim to remove the irregular or

non-seasonal influences which may be present in any particular month. This means that

month-to-month movements of the seasonally adjusted estimates may not be reliable

indicators of trend behaviour.

28 The Labour Force Survey uses the concurrent seasonal adjustment method to

derive seasonal factors. Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses data up to the current

month to estimate seasonal factors for the current and all previous months. This process

can result in revisions each month to estimates for earlier periods. However, in most

instances, the only noticeable revisions will be to the seasonally adjusted estimates for

the previous month and one year prior to the current month.

29 The revision properties of the seasonally adjusted and trend estimates can be

improved by the use of Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) modelling.

ARIMA modelling relies on the characteristics of the series being analysed to project

future period data. The projected values are temporary, intermediate values, that are

only used internally to improve the estimation of the seasonal factors. The projected data

do not affect the original estimates and are discarded at the end of the seasonal

adjustment process. The Labour Force Survey uses an ARIMA model for 95% of the

individual time series. The ARIMA model is assessed as part of the annual reanalysis. For

further details, see the feature article in Australian Economic Indicators, Oct 2004

(cat. no. 1350.0).

30 Seasonal adjustment is able to remove the effect of events which occur at the same

time in the survey every year. However, there are some events, like holidays, which are

not always at the same time in the survey cycle or which are not at the same time across

Australia. The effects of these types of events on Labour Force Survey estimates cannot in

all cases be removed, because the pattern of their effects cannot be determined.

However, two events which are adjusted for in the seasonally adjusted series are the

January interview start date and the timing of Easter. For further details, see Information

Paper: Forthcoming Changes to Labour Force Statistics (cat. no. 6292.0) released in

December 2003.

SE A S O N A L AD J U S T M E N T AN D

TR E N D ES T I M A T I O N

25 Sampling error occurs because a sample, rather than the entire population, is

surveyed. One measure of the likely difference resulting from not including all dwellings

in the survey is given by the standard error. There are about two chances in three that a

sample estimate will differ by less than one standard error from the figure that would

have been obtained if all dwellings had been included in the survey, and about nineteen

chances in twenty that the difference will be less than two standard errors. Standard

errors of key estimates for the latest month and of movements since the previous month

of these estimates are shown in the standard errors section of this publication. Standard

errors for other estimates and other movements may be calculated by using the

spreadsheet contained in Labour Force Survey Standard Errors, Data Cube

(cat. no. 6298.0.55.001) which is available free of charge on the ABS website

<http://www.abs.gov.au>.

26 Non-sampling error arises from inaccuracies in collecting, recording and processing

the data. Every effort is made to minimise reporting error by the careful design of

questionnaires, intensive training and supervision of interviewers, and efficient data

processing procedures. Non-sampling error also arises because information cannot be

obtained from all persons selected in the survey. The Labour Force Survey receives a

high level of co-operation from individuals in selected dwellings, with the average

response rate over the last year being 97%. See Glossary for definition of response rate.

RE L I A B I L I T Y OF ES T I M A T E S

continued



40 Estimates have been rounded and discrepancies may occur between sums of the

component items and totals. Estimates of movement shown in this publication are

obtained by taking the difference of unrounded estimates. The movement estimate is

then rounded to one decimal place. Where a discrepancy occurs between the reported

movement and the difference of the rounded estimates, the reported movement will be

more accurate.

EF F E C T S OF RO U N D I N G

39 As well as the statistics included in this and related publications, the ABS may have

other relevant data available. Inquiries should be made to the Labour Force contact

officer on (02) 6252 6525, email [email protected] or to any ABS office.

DA T A AV A I L A B L E ON

RE Q U E S T

36 Users may also wish to refer to Australian Labour Market Statistics

(cat. no. 6105.0). This publication contains additional tables and a detailed list of related

publications. For further information about this publication, please contact the Assistant

Director, Labour Market Statistics on (02) 6252 7636.

37 ABS Information about the labour market can be found on the Labour theme page

on the ABS website <http://www.abs.gov.au>(Themes).

38 Information about current publications and other products released by the ABS is

available from the statistics page on the ABS website. The ABS also issues a daily release

advice on the website, Upcoming Product Releases which details products to be released

in the week ahead.

RE L A T E D PU B L I C A T I O N S

31 While seasonal factors for the complete time series are estimated each month, they

will continue to be reviewed annually at a more detailed level to take into account each

additional year's original data. This annual review will not normally result in significant

changes to published estimates. The review is usually conducted in February each year

with the results released in the February issue of this publication.

32 The smoothing of seasonally adjusted series to produce 'trend' series reduces the

impact of the irregular component of the seasonally adjusted series. These trend

estimates are derived by applying a 13-term Henderson-weighted moving average to all

months except the last six. The last six monthly trend estimates are obtained by applying

surrogates of the Henderson average to the seasonally adjusted series. Trend estimates

are used to analyse the underlying behaviour of a series over time.

33 While this smoothing technique enables estimates to be produced for the latest

month, it does result in revisions in addition to those caused by the revision of

seasonally adjusted estimates. Generally, revisions due to the use of surrogates of the

Henderson average become smaller, and after three months have a negligible impact on

the series.

34 Trend estimates are published for the Northern Territory in table 10 and for the

Australian Capital Territory in table 11. Unadjusted series for the two Territories have

shown, historically, a high degree of variability, which can lead to considerable revisions

to the seasonally adjusted estimates each month when seasonal factors are estimated.

For this reason, seasonally adjusted estimates are not currently published for the two

Territories. In addition, caution should be exercised in the interpretation of trend

estimates for the two Territories, particularly for the three most recent months, where

revisions may be relatively large.

35 For further information, see A Guide to Interpreting Time Series – Monitoring

Trends (cat. no. 1349.0) or contact the Assistant Director, Time Series Analysis on

(02) 6252 6345 or email [email protected].

SE A S O N A L AD J U S T M E N T AN D

TR E N D ES T I M A T I O N continued



Technical and Further EducationTAFE seasonally adjustedSeas adj. percentage pointspts part timep/t Labour Force SurveyLFS full timef/t estimated resident populationERP catalogue numbercat. no. computer assisted interviewingCAI Australian Bureau of StatisticsABS percentage% thousands'000

DefinitionSymbol

41 SYMBOLS AND ABBREV IAT IONSSY M B O L S AN D

AB B R E V I A T I O N S



0.30.50.51.31.41.20.91.00.90.70.7ptsUnemployment to population ratio –

looking for f/t work

0.71.01.03.33.32.82.02.01.61.41.3ptsParticipation rate

0.81.11.23.53.43.02.12.41.81.91.8ptsTotal0.91.21.53.93.83.82.62.52.02.02.0ptsLooking for p/t work1.62.82.07.95.04.93.54.73.44.63.2ptsLooking for f/t work

Unemployment rate11.77.88.40.80.90.93.52.45.26.68.0'000Not in labour force10.27.37.30.80.51.03.12.25.05.26.3'000Labour force

7.55.25.40.50.30.72.11.63.83.94.8'000Total5.53.83.90.40.10.51.51.12.43.03.4'000Looking for p/t work5.13.53.70.30.20.41.41.12.72.43.2'000Looking for f/t work

Unemployed

9.26.76.60.70.50.92.82.04.54.75.6'000Total7.76.05.30.60.40.72.11.63.64.14.6'000Part time5.53.84.60.40.40.51.81.22.72.53.6'000Full time

EmployedAged 15–19 years




16.210.911.81.20.61.54.63.17.48.710.4'000Total8.46.65.10.70.20.92.41.84.14.75.1'000Looking for p/t work

13.78.510.50.80.61.23.92.76.67.28.9'000Looking for f/t workUnemployed


EmployedAged 15 years and over

PersonsFemalesMales

AUSTRALIA

ACTNTTas.WASAQldVic.NSW

To illustrate, let us say the published level estimate for employed persons aged 15–19

years is 700,000 and the associated standard error is 8,300. The standard error is then

used to interpret the level estimate of 700,000. For instance, the standard error of 8,300

indicates that:

! There are approximately two chances in three that the real value falls within the

range 691,700 to 708,300 (700,000 + or – 8,300)

! There are approximately nineteen chances in twenty that the real value falls within

the range 683,400 to 716,600 (700,000 + or – 16,600).

The real value in this case is the result we would obtain if we could enumerate the total

population.

The following table shows the standard errors for this month's level estimates.

LEVEL ESTIMATES

The estimates in this publication are based on information gained from the occupants of

a sample survey of dwellings. Because the entire population is not surveyed, the

published estimates are subject to sampling error. The most common way of quantifying

such sampling error is to calculate the standard error for the published estimate or

statistic. For more information, see paragraphs 24 to 26 of the Explanatory Notes.

ST A N D A R D ER R O R S


S T A N D A R D E R R O R S

0.40.50.61.41.31.21.01.00.90.70.7ptsUnemployment to population ratio –

looking for f/t work




7.75.35.70.60.30.72.21.53.93.95.0'000Total5.63.94.00.50.20.51.61.12.63.03.4'000Looking for p/t work5.53.64.20.30.20.41.61.02.82.63.5'000Looking for f/t work

Unemployed


EmployedAged 15–19 years




16.611.112.01.20.61.54.73.18.68.510.5'000Total8.66.85.30.80.30.92.51.74.34.65.1'000Looking for p/t work

14.08.810.71.00.61.24.02.67.37.19.0'000Looking for f/t workUnemployed


EmployedAged 15 years and over

PersonsFemalesMales

AUSTRALIA

ACTNTTas.WASAQldVic.NSW

The following example illustrates how to use the standard error to interpret a movement

estimate. Let us say that one month the published level estimate for females employed

part-time in Australia is 1,890,000; the next month the published level estimate is

1,900,000 and the associated standard error for the movement estimate is 9,500. The

standard error is then used to interpret the published movement estimate of 10,000. For

instance, the standard error of 9,500 indicates that:

! There are approximately two chances in three that the real movement between the

two months falls within the range 500 to 19,500 (10,000 + or – 9,500)

! There are approximately nineteen chances in twenty that the real movement falls

within the range –9,000 to 29,000 (10,000 + or – 19,000).

The following table shows the standard errors for this month's movement estimates.

MOVEMENT ESTIMATES


S T A N D A R D E R R O R S continued

The estimation methodology used in the Labour Force Survey. Composite Estimationuses sample responses from nearby months as well as from the reference month toderive estimates for the reference month. This approach achieves gains in efficiency byexploiting the high similarity between the responses provided by the same respondent inprevious months. For details see Information Paper: Forthcoming Changes to LabourForce Statistics, 2007 (cat. no. 6292.0).

Composite Estimation

All usual residents of Australia aged 15 years and over except members of the permanentdefence forces, certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments customarilyexcluded from census and estimated population counts, overseas residents in Australia,and members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants) stationed inAustralia.

Civilian population aged 15years and over

Persons aged 15–24 years enrolled full time at a TAFE college, university, or othereducational institution in the reference week, except those persons aged 15–19 yearswho were still attending school.

Attending tertiary educationalinstitution full time

Persons aged 15–19 years enrolled at secondary or high school in the reference week.Attending school

Persons aged 15–24 years enrolled at secondary or high school or enrolled as a full timestudent at a Technical and Further Education (TAFE) college, university, or othereducational institution in the reference week.

Attending full time education

Aggregate monthly hours worked measures the total number of actual hours worked byemployed persons in a calendar month. It differs from the actual hours worked estimates(and the usual hours worked estimates) since these refer only to the hours worked inthe reference week.

Actual and usual hours worked cannot be aggregated across time to produce eitherquarterly or annual estimates as they relate to only a single week in the month. Incontrast, aggregate monthly hours worked estimates are a true monthly measure, andmay be aggregated across time to produce both quarterly and annual estimates.

Aggregate monthly hoursworked

Actual hours of work refers to a specified reference period and includes:! hours actually worked during normal periods of work;! time spent in addition to hours worked during normal periods of work (including

overtime);! time spent at the place of work on activities such as the preparation of the workplace,

repairs and maintenance, preparation and cleaning of tools, and the preparation ofreceipts, time sheets and reports;

! time spent at the place of work waiting or standing by; and! time corresponding to short rest periods.

Excluded are:! hours paid for but not worked, such as paid annual leave, public holidays or paid sick

leave;! meal breaks; and! time spent on travel to and from work (excluding some self-employed).

For multiple job holders actual hours worked should equal the hours worked at all jobs.

Actual hours of work

Includes writing, telephoning or applying in person to an employer for work; answeringan advertisement for a job; checking factory noticeboards or the touchscreens at theCentrelink offices; being registered with Centrelink as a jobseeker; checking orregistering with any other employment agency; advertising or tendering for work; andcontacting friends or relatives.

Actively looking for work


G L O S S A R Y

The sum of the number of persons unemployed and the number of persons inunderemployment, expressed as a proportion of the labour force.

Labour force underutilisationrate

A classification of the civilian population aged 15 years and over into employed,unemployed or not in the labour force, as defined. The definitions conform closely tothe international standard definitions adopted by the International Conferences ofLabour Statisticians.

Labour force status

For any group, persons who were employed or unemployed, as defined.Labour force

The matching of respondents who report in consecutive months enables analysis of thetransition of individuals between the different labour force status classifications, referredto as the matched sample. The transition counts between the different labour forcestatus classifications from one point in time to the next are commonly referred to asgross flows.

The figures presented in gross flows are presented in original terms only and do notalign with published labour force estimates. The gross flows figures are derived from thematched sample between consecutive months, which after taking account of the samplerotation and varying non-response in each month is approximately 80 percent of thesample.

Caution should be exercised when analysing these gross flows data due to:! the figures presented sum to approximately 80 percent of the population values as the

gross flows data are based on the matched sample only;! there is no adjustment applied to account for changes due to seasonal patterns

(referred to commonly as seasonal adjustment); and! the relative sizes of each transition class are subject to bias due to the matched sample

being a non-representative sample.

Gross flows

Employed persons who usually worked 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and thosewho, although usually working less than 35 hours a week, worked 35 hours or moreduring the reference week.

Full time workers

Full time aggregate monthly hours worked measures the total number of hours workedin a calendar month by employed persons who actually worked 35 hours or more duringthe reference week.

Full time aggregate monthlyhours worked

Flow estimates are a measure of activity over a given period. For example, aggregatemonthly hours worked is a measure of the total number of hours worked in a calendarmonth.

Flow estimates

For any group, the number of employed persons expressed as a percentage of thecivilian population in the same group.

Employment to populationratio

All persons aged 15 years and over who, during the reference week:! worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind in a job

or business, or on a farm (comprising employees, employers and own accountworkers); or

! worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (i.e.contributing family workers); or

! were employees who had a job but were not at work and were:! away from work for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week; or

! away from work for more than four weeks up to the end of the reference week and

received pay for some or all of the four week period to the end of the reference

week; or

! away from work as a standard work or shift arrangement; or

! on strike or locked out; or

! on workers' compensation and expected to return to their job; or

! were employers or own account workers, who had a job, business or farm, but werenot at work.

Employed


G L O S S A R Y continued

For any group, the number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of thecivilian population in the same group.

Unemployment to populationratio

For any group, the number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of thelabour force in the same group.

Unemployment rate

Unemployed persons who:! actively looked for part time work only; or! were waiting to start a new part time job.

Unemployed looking for parttime work

Unemployed persons who:! actively looked for full time work; or! were waiting to start a new full time job.

Unemployed looking for fulltime work

Persons aged 15 years and over who were not employed during the reference week, and:! had actively looked for full time or part time work at any time in the four weeks up to

the end of the reference week and were available for work in the reference week; or! were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week

and could have started in the reference week if the job had been available then.

Unemployed

Employed persons aged 15 years and over who want, and are available for, more hours ofwork than they currently have. They comprise:! persons employed part time who want to work more hours and are available to start

work with more hours, either in the reference week or in the four weeks subsequentto the survey; or

! persons employed full time who worked part time hours in the reference week foreconomic reasons (such as being stood down or insufficient work being available). Itis assumed that these people wanted to work full time in the reference week andwould have been available to do so.

Underemployed workers

The number of underemployed workers expressed as a percentage of the labour force.Underemployment rate

A smoothed seasonally adjusted series of estimates. See Explanatory Notes 32 to 35 formore detail.

Trend series

Stock estimates are a measure of certain attributes at a point in time and can be thoughtof as stocktakes. For example, the total number of employed persons is an account ofthe number of people who were considered employed in the Labour Force Surveyreference week.

Stock estimates

A time series of estimates with the estimated effects of normal seasonal variationremoved. See Explanatory Notes 27 to 31 for more detail.

Seasonally adjusted series

The number of fully responding dwellings expressed as a percentage of the total numberof dwellings excluding sample loss. Examples of sample loss include: dwellings where allpersons are out of scope and/or coverage; vacant dwellings; dwellings underconstruction; dwellings converted to non-dwellings; derelict dwellings; and demolisheddwellings.

Response rate

Employed persons who usually worked less than 35 hours a week (in all jobs) and eitherdid so during the reference week, or were not at work during the reference week.

Part time workers

Part time aggregate monthly hours worked measures the total number of hours workedin a calendar month by employed persons who actually worked 1 to 34 hours during thereference week.

Part time aggregate monthlyhours worked

For any group, the labour force expressed as a percentage of the civilian population aged15 years and over in the same group.

Participation rate

Persons who were not in the categories employed or unemployed as defined.Not in labour force



Usual hours of work refers to a typical period rather than to a specified reference period.The concept of usual hours applies both to persons at work and to persons temporarilyabsent from work, and is defined as the hours worked during a typical week or day.Actual hours worked (for a specific reference period) may differ from usual hoursworked due to illness, vacation, strike, overtime work, a change of job or similar reasons.

Usual hours of work



www.abs.gov.auWEB ADDRESS

All statistics on the ABS website can be downloaded freeof charge.

F R E E A C C E S S T O S T A T I S T I C S

Client Services, ABS, GPO Box 796, Sydney NSW 2001POST

1300 135 211FAX

[email protected]

1300 135 070PHONE

Our consultants can help you access the full range ofinformation published by the ABS that is available free ofcharge from our website. Information tailored to yourneeds can also be requested as a 'user pays' service.Specialists are on hand to help you with analytical ormethodological advice.

I N F O R M A T I O N A N D R E F E R R A L S E R V I C E

www.abs.gov.au the ABS website is the best place fordata from our publications and information about the ABS.

INTERNET

F O R M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N . . .

© Commonwealth of Australia 2010Produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics

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Jobs growth slows, unemployment ticks up - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/11/2842815.htm[24/03/2010 2:40:44 PM]

The unemployment rate is at 5.3 per cent, despite thecreation of 11,400 full-time jobs in February (AAP: AlanPorritt, file photo)

Print Email Share

Jobs growth slows, unemployment ticks upBy online business reporter Michael Janda

Updated Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:33pm AEDT

The unemployment rate crept higher to 5.3 percent in February, after January's figure wasrevised down to 5.2 per cent.

That means January's stunning fall in unemploymentfrom 5.5 per cent was even larger than initiallyreported (the original figures showed unemployment at5.3 per cent), but it also makes today's figures lookslightly worse.

The February figures (which showed the creation ofonly 400 extra jobs) disappointed analysts, but not bymuch.

The average forecast in Bloomberg's survey of 25economists was for an increase of 15,000 jobs, whichwould have left the unemployment rate steady at 5.3per cent.

The good news in the Bureau of Statistics survey wasthat full-time employment increased by 11,400, whileit was part-time employment that bore the brunt ofthe job losses (down 11,000).

That means aggregate monthly hours worked increased2.4 per cent last month.

"The headline number was softer than expected but thedetails of the report are anything but soft. We had thesixth straight month of growth in full-time jobs andunemployment remains low, and fell further in NewSouth Wales," Brian Redican, a senior economist atMacquarie, told Reuters.

"There was also a big bounce in aggregate hours worked, which is encouraging. So really, this changes nothingabout the job outlook - it is still rock solid.

"However, it does give the RBA cover should they choose not to hike in April. That's still a close call."

Return to full-timeHelen Kevans, an economist with JP Morgan, says the figures seem to indicate that employers are putting staffback onto full-time hours after cutting their hours during the downturn.

"That rise in full-time jobs in February was pretty much off-set by that decline in part-time jobs, and what we areseeing is a big shift from part-time to full-time work and that's because firms are reinstating worker hours," shetold ABC News.

"Now remember in 2009 we did see a big drop in worker hours throughout the year, but we do think those hourswill be rebuilt before firms actually start to hire new staff."

She says, even if the rate of improvement in unemployment slows, it is likely to be offset by existing employeesreceiving more hours at work.

"It is encouraging because as those worker hours are rebuilt, wages will be reinstated and then eventually wagegrowth will accelerate and that's got positive implications for spending in the economy more broadly," she added.

Stephen Roberts, an economist at Nomura, told Reuters that the figures will have a bigger impact on the FederalGovernment's bottom line than they will on interest rates.

"It's not the sort of numbers that will change where things will go from here with rates. I see 4.25 per cent by theend of the year," he said.

"The budget deficit will come [in] better than expected for this financial year, considerably better because therehas been more growth. I see minus 3.4 per cent of GDP rather than [the] minus 4.9 per cent estimated by thegovernment at the budget time."

The Australian dollar fell slightly on the weaker than expected jobs numbers to 91.28 US cents at 11:35am

AUDIO: Unemployment up slightly as part time jobsfall (The World Today)

THE DRUM: Unemployment - what's in a number?

THE DRUM: Can the good news on jobs really last?

RELATED STORY: Low unemployment masks army ofunderemployed

RELATED LINK: Graph: unemployment rate over thepast decade

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Unemployment tipped to dip below 5%

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-business/unemployment-tipped-to-dip-below-5-20100305-poip.html[24/03/2010 2:57:54 PM]

Top Breaking NewsBusiness articles

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AAP

The unemployment rate could slip under five per cent by theend of calendar 2010 even though upcoming jobs data mightbe disappointing, economists say.

Official data is expected to show employment will increase bya modest 10,000 in February and that the unemployment ratewill rise to 5.4 per cent from 5.3 per cent, the median of 11economists surveyed by AAP finds.

AMP chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said the rise in theunemployment rate was likely to be temporary as theeconomic deck was still cut in Australia's favour.

Dr Oliver predicted zero employment growth in February, withan unemployment rate of 5.3 per cent.

"We've had five months of gains," he said, referring to the195,000 increase in the number of people with jobs sinceSeptember 2009.

"With the statistical noise in the survey, sooner or later we'regoing to have a softer month. Not because the labour marketis deteriorating, but because it's very rare for employment tobe so strong over so many months.

"It's sort of payback."

Dr Oliver also predicts a jobless rate under five per cent byyear-end.

"The flat spot in the economy is over. We got away with aflesh wound from the global financial crisis, as opposed to therecession that many were expecting.

"We have a very high level of business confidence, a very highlevel of consumer confidence, profits are on the mend, buildingapprovals are up quite strongly pointing to a housing recovery.

"By the end of this year, our economic growth figures will beup around four per cent, which will generate robustemployment growth and bring our unemployment rate downbelow possibly five per cent.

On Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) saidthe economy grew by 0.9 per cent in the last three months of2009 and by 2.7 per cent in the year to December.

Despite the run of positive data over the past five months, therecent scaling back of government stimulus could weaken thejob market, said chief executive of recruitment agency IPARabieh Krayem.

"It's a confusing market at the moment," Mr Krayem said in astatement.

"I've met with many industry leaders over the last few weeksand they're very cautious about where demand will come fromonce the spending runs out.

"There's still talk of the economy experiencing a wave ofaftershocks.

EOIN BLACKWELLMarch 5, 2010Join the conversation

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Unemployment tipped to dipbelow 5%

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Attachment B


! 4.5 Scope and coverage in general

! 4.5.1 Introduction

! 4.5.2 Scope

! 4.5.3 Coverage

! 4.6 Keeping in touch

! 4.6.1 CAI Interviewers Work Group database (WDB)

5.3 Survey scope and coverage

! 5.3.1 Scope rules

! 5.3.2 Coverage rules

! 5.3.2.1 The coverage questions

! 5.3.2.2 Definitions of usual residents and visitors

! 5.3.2.3 Possible problems and unusual cases

ABS Interviewer Information Pack Attachment B

4.5. Scope and coverage in general

4.5.1. Introduction

Not all people at a selected dwelling when you call will necessarily be included in the surveyyou are conducting. Before completing any questionnaires for persons in a dwelling, you willneed to determine whether any persons in the dwelling should be excluded from the surveyaccording to rules derived in the office for the purpose. People may be excluded from thesurvey:

by the scope rules; or

by the coverage rules.

You do not need to obtain answers to survey questions for any persons who are excluded bythe scope or coverage rules of the survey.

The scope rules and coverage rules are separate sets of rules, which are independent of eachother. Each set of rules is discussed below, along with the procedures to be followed toapply them when interviewing.

4.5.2. Scope

Survey scope refers to the population that the survey is collecting information about. Whilethis may appear obvious, population surveys must be very specific about the people theycollect information from. This follows through to the way in which the survey information ispublished and used.

For example, the Labour Force Survey (part of the MPS) relates to the characteristics of theAustralian civilian population aged 15 years and over. Generally, this means that questionsare not asked where someone is permanent member of the Australian Defence Forces, orwhere they are under the age of 15 (though they may be asked of other householdmembers). Note that detailed scope rules for the Labour Force Survey are given in Chapter5.

To establish survey scope, you are given a set of rules to apply to persons in a selecteddwelling. Where someone is identified as the subject of a scope rule, and excluded from thesurvey, they are described as out on scope. Persons in a selected dwelling who are not outon scope are described as being in on scope.

4.5.3. Coverage

The purpose of the coverage rules is to give each person in the population only one chanceof being selected in the survey. Coverage rules are determined by the office for each survey.

Sample surveys are designed so that by obtaining information from a sample of thepopulation, results can be produced which refer to the whole population. For example, thetotal number of unemployed people in Australia that is published in the Labour Force Surveyis estimated from the number of unemployed people found in the survey. To be able tomake an estimate of a characteristic like unemployment it is necessary to know what chanceof selection in the survey each person has, and by ensuring that each person has only onechance of selection.

For most ABS population surveys, this is achieved by selecting a sample of dwellings. Eachdwelling in Australia has only one chance of being selected. The people associated with theselected dwellings form the sample of the population from whom the survey information isobtained. If each person is associated with only one dwelling, then each person has only onechance of selection in the survey. The coverage rules are used to associate each person with onlyone dwelling.

The coverage rules establish whether or not a person at a selected dwelling is associated with thatdwelling. You should include in the survey those people who are associated with a particulardwelling and exclude those people who are not associated with that dwelling. For persons whoare included you obtain a survey questionnaire. These people are described as being in oncoverage. You do not need to complete a survey questionnaire for persons who are excludedfrom the survey on grounds of a coverage exclusion. These people are described as being out oncoverage.

Unlike scope, where it may become apparent that a person is out on scope at any time during theinterview (as they describe their personal circumstances in more detail), coverage is usuallyestablished by a series of questions in the Household Form of the survey instrument. Thequestions generally relate to who is staying at the selected dwelling at a particular time, how longthey plan to stay, and where they usually live. It is necessary to familiarise yourself with thecoverage procedures for each survey you work on.

Queries by respondents

Occasionally a respondent will ask why you are asking questions about their movements and whowill be staying in the dwelling that night. You will need to reassure the respondent by explainingthat we only ask these questions to ensure that people are not included in the survey at more thanone address, that is, we do not want to ask the same questions twice about the same person.


4.6. Keeping in touch

4.6.1. Interviewers Work Group Database (WDB)

The Interviewers Work Group Database (or IWDB for short) is a repository for all informationrelating to interviewers and field operations. It enables information to be stored in onecommon place for all staff to view. Notices from Central Office and your regional office willbe posted directly to this database.

You should make a habit of reading the Interviewers WDB on a regular basis because theremay be important information that relates to the work that you are undertaking.

The Interviewers WDB also enables you to communicate with each other and the office. Ifthere are particular issues that you wish to raise you can create a document on theInterviewers WDB.

There are two methods for creating documents on the database. You can create a Parentdocument which is a main document, or you can create a Child document which is aresponse, or a comment, to a main or Parent document. Steps for creating a document areoutlined below.

To create a Parent Document

Open the Interviewers WDB.In the left hand pane, select the �by Category� button to view documents by category.Click on the Topic button located at the top of the screen.Type in the Subject of your documentSelect the Category.Type the text of the document in the brackets.Save and Close the document.Refresh the view by pressing 'F9'.Your document has been created.

To create a Child Document

Open the parent document you wish to draft a response against.Click on the Comment button located at the top of the page.Type in the Subject of your documentType in the text of the document in the bracketsSave and Close the document.Refresh the view by pressing 'F9'Your response document has been created.

Usage statement

The "usage statement" for the Interviewers Workgroup database is on the opening screen.It is important that you read and understand the purpose and conditions of use outlined inthe statement so that you can use the database as intended.

5.3. Survey scope and coverage

As explained in section 4.5, each ABS population survey has scope and coverage rules to ensurethat the survey results pertain to the population of interest (scope rules), and to ensure thatstatistical procedures are correct (coverage rules). The following chapter outlines the scope andcoverage rules for the Labour Force Survey.

5.3.1. Scope rules

The Labour Force Survey is designed to collect information about the labour force characteristics ofthe Australian civilian population 15 years and over. There are some people in Australia for whomLabour Force Survey information is not required because their activities are not relevant to theobjectives of the survey. These people are considered to be outside the scope of the survey andare described as out on scope. The following people are excluded on scope.

Children under 15 years of age.

Non-Australian diplomats, non-Australian diplomatic staff and non-Australian members of theirhouseholds.

Short term overseas visitors, i.e. people whose usual place of residence is outside Australia,and who are staying in Australia for less than 12 months.

Members of the Australian permanent defence forces are excluded on scope. However, civilianmembers of the families of defence force personnel are in on scope, as are members of theAustralian Merchant Navy and of the Army Reserve.

Members of non-Australian defence forces stationed in Australia and their dependents.

The scope rules are applied at the time you make contact at the dwelling. For example:

if a person's fifteenth birthday will be two days after you conduct the interview, then he/sheshould be excluded from the scope of the survey; whereas

if a person left the armed forces the day before you call, he/she should be included in thescope of the survey.

No survey questionnaires are required for people out on scope. However, note that somedemographic details are still collected on the Household Form of the instrument. Scope exclusionsare marked in the Household Form (see Chapter 7.6). The following information is collected forpeople out on scope.

Persons aged 15 years or over - sex, age, relationship and reason for exclusion from thesurvey.

Usual residents aged less than 15 years - all demographic details.

Visitors aged less than 15 years - sex and age.

There are no specific questions you can ask to determine if a person is out on scope. You mayfind out that a person is out on scope at any stage of the interview, depending on whatinformation the person volunteers or perhaps because of the excluded group the individual belongsto. For example:


It will be apparent when you record age on the Household Form (HF) that a person isunder 15 years of age. (There may be times when the scope of the survey is extendedto cover persons under 15 years old, but you will be given specific instructions in suchcases).

It is most likely that a person who has diplomatic status will tell you this early in theinterview.

For overseas visitors to Australia, you will probably find out that a person's usual place ofresidence is outside Australia when you are completing the HF. This information oftenemerges when coverage questions (see section 5.3.2) are asked. If not, it will beapparent that the person is out on scope if, in answer to the question relating to thepostcode of their usual address, you find out that the person usually lives overseas.

The determining factor of scope of overseas visitors is the total duration of their stay inAustralia. If they are staying in Australia for less than 12 months, the visitor is out onscope; if they are staying in Australia 12 months or more the visitor is in on scope. Forexample, an overseas visitor who is in Australia to study for a period of 12 months ormore is in on scope, regardless of whether they go home on holidays for some weeksduring the total period of stay in Australia.

If you are interviewing in married quarters on a military base you will be alert to thelikelihood of scope exclusions. In other cases you may be told that a person is in thepermanent defence forces.

In the quarter months (February, May, August and November) when occupation andindustry questions are asked in the Labour Force Survey, scope exclusions will beapparent in most cases from the answers to those questions (such as an overseasgovernment as an employer in the case of diplomats or members of non-Australiandefence forces, or job details of Australian permanent defence force personnel).

For persons recorded on the HF as being out on scope in previous surveys, you will need tocheck whether their situation has changed to establish their current status.

If you are in doubt about whether a person is out on scope, treat the case as if the personwas in on scope (that is, obtain a questionnaire) and record full details of the situation in theField Query section under the Remarks Tab of the Household Details Document.

5.3.2. Coverage rules

Theoretically, it would be possible to devise coverage rules that associate, with completeaccuracy, every person with one and only one dwelling. Such rules would be excessivelycomplex and unworkable. The coverage rules designed for the Labour Force Survey are,therefore, a compromise between perfection and feasibility. In a few, very rare cases it ispossible, in theory, for a person to be associated with more than one dwelling. The chancesof a person actually being included twice in the one survey are extremely small and youshould not be concerned about this.

The coverage rules for Private Dwellings are shown in Appendix 14.

5.3.2.1. The coverage questions

Module 1 - Initial Interviewer Training

The coverage rules are applied by asking the coverage questions as you complete the HF. All thatis required to establish coverage accurately in the MPS is strict adherence to the coveragequestions.

5.3.2.2. Definitions of usual residents and visitors

The main effect of the coverage rules is to include people, as often as possible, at the privatedwelling of which they are usual residents. In the majority of cases when interviewing at privatedwellings, no problems will arise in establishing if people are usual residents of the selecteddwelling or visitors to it. However, it is important that you understand what is meant by the termsusual residents and visitors.

The usual residents of a private dwelling are those people who usually live in that particulardwelling and regard it as their own or main home. If people consider themselves to be usualresidents of the selected private dwelling then they are listed as such on the HF and the applicablecoverage questions asked to establish whether to include or exclude them at the selected dwelling.

People who permanently reside in long stay caravan parks which are permanent dwellings and whoconsider a caravan park as their usual place of residence, are considered to be usual residents.

Visitors at a private dwelling are people who do not usually live in that dwelling, do not regard itas their own or main home, but are temporarily staying there. People who are staying at a selectedprivate dwelling but do not consider it to be their usual residence (or are not considered to beusual residents by the respondents) are listed on the HF as visitors and the applicable coveragequestions asked to establish whether to include or exclude them at the selected dwelling. Novisitor is listed on the HF unless he/she is staying overnight �tonight� at the selected dwelling. Forexample, if you are completing the HF on a Tuesday, the visitor must be staying Tuesday night atthe selected dwelling to be listed on the HF. People visiting residents of selected dwellings whowill not be staying the night are not recorded as visitors on the HF.

5.3.2.3. Possible problems and unusual cases

In almost all cases you will be able to list usual residents and visitors at selected dwellings withoutdifficulty and establish coverage inclusion or exclusion by simply asking the coverage questions. Inany situation where you are not sure what to do, you should set the person as in on coverageand complete the questionnaire for the person concerned and give full details of the coverageproblem in the Field Query section under the Remarks Tab in the Household DetailsDocument. Some problems you may encounter and the way in which they should be handled arelisted below for your guidance.

Be aware that when asking the question relating to visitors' coverage: �Is ..... or any otherusual resident of ..... dwelling staying there on any nights Monday to Friday of thisweek?� on the phone, the respondent may misunderstand the meaning of the word �there�.The previous use of the word �there� refers to the respondent�s dwelling, whereas this questionrefers to the �visitor�s dwelling�.

In cases where it has been definitely established (either from visitors or neighbours) that allusual residents are away all of interview week those usual residents are to be classed as out oncoverage.

If you are interviewing at a private dwelling on Saturday, the coverage questions will bedisplayed as follows:


The first coverage question for usual residents refers to Friday night, not�tonight� i.e. the question is asked as �Were any of these people staying awaylast night?�

Visitors are only to be entered on the HF if they were staying at the selecteddwelling on Friday night. This does not affect the coverage questions forvisitors but means the question is reworded from �Will any one else be stayinghere tonight?� to �Was any one else staying here last night?�

The coverage questions for usual residents also apply to usual residents moving in or outof a selected dwelling during interview week. For example, if you are interviewing onWednesday and the respondent tells you that the family is moving in today and will bespending Wednesday night in the selected dwelling, then they are in on coverage at theselected dwelling. If the respondent tells you, on Monday, that the usual residents of theselected dwelling will be moving out tomorrow but that they will be spending tonight(Monday night) at the selected dwelling, then they are in on coverage at the selecteddwelling.

If you are interviewing at a holiday home (for example, a weekender at the coast) andthe respondent tells you that he and his family only come here for weekends andholidays but actually live in the city, you would list them on the HF as visitors and applythe coverage questions for visitors to determine whether to include or exclude them atthe holiday home.

A person may usually live in two private dwellings; for example, a farmer who spends theweek nights on his farm and the weekend with his family who live in town. He mayconsider one of these dwellings to be his usual private dwelling, in which case his opinionis accepted and the dwelling he nominates as his usual private dwelling is the one he isclassed as a usual resident of. What this means in practice, when interviewing, isexplained below.

If you are interviewing at the farm (that is, the farm is the selected dwelling) and thefarmer tells you that he lives in two places but actually considers his house in town to behis usual place of residence, you would list him on the HF as a visitor and apply thecoverage questions for visitors to determine whether to include or exclude him at thefarm.

If you are interviewing at the house in town (that is, the house in town is the selecteddwelling) and his wife tells you her husband comes home at weekends and considers hishome with her to be his usual residence, you would list him on the HF as a usual residentand apply the coverage questions for usual residents to establish whether to include orexclude him at the house in town.

If when interviewing at a private dwelling it is not possible to establish whether a personstaying tonight at the selected dwelling is a usual resident of that dwelling or elsewhere(either another private dwelling or a Special Dwelling), treat the person as a visitor whodoes not usually live in a private dwelling and include the person.

If a person is not staying at the selected private dwelling and the respondent is unclearwhether the person is really a usual resident of that dwelling or elsewhere (either anotherprivate dwelling or a Special Dwelling) ask the respondent to nominate the dwelling atwhich the person usually spends most time. If the selected dwelling is nominated, treatas a usual resident of the selected dwelling. If another dwelling is nominated do not listthe person on the HF.


If a respondent tells you that an absent child (aged 15 or over) is away at boarding school, listthe child on the HF as a usual resident and follow the questions in the HF to determinecoverage. Do not probe for such information.

If a respondent tells you that an absent daughter is a nurse and lives in the nurses' quarters atthe hospital but that really her home is with her parents (at the selected dwelling), list thedaughter on the HF as a usual resident and follow the questions in the HF to determinecoverage. Do not probe for such information.

If a respondent tells you the usual residents are moving out today, exclude on coverage. Nofurther follow-up calls are necessary to see if anyone else is moving into the dwelling. TheResponse Report on the HF (see Section 8) should be coded to �08 All persons out onscope/coverage�.

In cases where children live with their mother one week and their father the next, the childrenshould be considered to be usual residents of both dwellings.


Attachment C


! 5.2 The Labour Force framework and concepts

! 5.2.1 Labour Force concepts

! 5.4 The Questionnaire

! 5.4.1 Reference period: reference week

! 5.4.2 �Quarter months� and �Non-quater months�

! 5.4.3 The Labour Force Survery (LFS) Questions - Quarter Month

ABS Interviewer Information Pack Attachment C

5.2. The Labour Force framework and concepts

The labour force represents the key official measure of the total supply of labour available tothe labour market during a given short reference period.

The Australian labour force framework classifies persons into three mutually exclusivecategories: employed; unemployed; and not in the labour force. The employed andunemployed categories together make up the labour force which gives a measure of thenumber of persons contributing to, or willing to contribute to, the supply of labour. The thirdcategory (not in the labour force) represents the currently inactive population. Theframework is illustrated below.

Conceptual Framework

C u rre n t lye c ono m ic a lly in a c t ive

C u rre n t ly e c o nom ic a llya c t ive

P opu la t io n in s c o pe

U ne m p lo ye dEm p lo yed

In the la b ou r fo rc e N o t in the la bo u r f o rc e

5.2.1 Labour Force Concepts

The concept of employment is based on the principle that a person must have beenengaged in some economic activity (work) over a short reference period.

For the Labour Force Survey, Employed are defined as persons aged 15 years and overwho, during the reference week:

worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind, in a job orbusiness or on a farm (comprising employees, employers and own account workers) ; or

worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (iecontributing family workers); or

were employees who had a job but were not at work and were:

away from work during the reference period; or

away from work for more than four weeks up to the end of the reference weekand received pay for some or all of the four week period to the end of thereference week; or

away from work as a standard work or shift arrangement; or

on strike or locked out; or

on workers compensation and expected to be returning to their job; or

were employers or own account workers, who had a job, business or farm, but were not atwork.

The concept of unemployment is based on the simultaneous satisfaction of the each of thefollowing criteria:

without work;

actively seeking work (unless waiting to commence a job); and

currently available for work.

The Labour Force Survey defines unemployed as persons aged 15 and over who were notemployed during the reference week; and:

had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the endof the reference week and were available for work in the reference week; or

were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week, andcould have started in the reference week if the job had been available then.

Not in the labour force is based on the concept that persons not currently employed orunemployed are not economically active.

In the Labour Force Survey, Persons not in the labour force are defined as persons aged 15and over who were not employed or unemployed, as defined. They include: persons who werekeeping house (unpaid), retired, voluntarily inactive, or permanently unable to work; persons ininstitutions (hospitals, goals, sanatoriums, etc.); members of contemplative religious orders; andpersons whose activity during the reference week was jury service or unpaid voluntary work for acharitable organisation.


5.4. The Questionnaire

This chapter provides you with sufficient information about the Labour Force Survey (LFS)questions to enable you to complete questionnaires for the cases that you are likely toencounter. If you come across any unusual cases or points on which you are unsure of thetreatment required, enter the full details as a Field Query in the Household Details Documentunder the Remarks Tab.

The Supplementary Survey questions are not discussed in this chapter. Information aboutSupplementary Survey questions are provided in Interviewer Instructions for the survey.

Where 5 dots (e.g. .....) are displayed in the question wording in this Chapter, the electronicquestionnaire automatically substitutes the appropriate pronoun or reference to the personfor whom the question is being asked.

For example if you were the respondent Q19 would display as:

Q19 Last week, did you do any work at all in a job, business or farm?

If you were answering the Labour Force questions on behalf of another person, for example,named Jenny, Q19 would display as:

Q19 Last week, did Jenny do any work at all in a job, business or farm?

5.4.1. Reference period: reference week

People are identified as belonging to a labour force group based on their activity in aspecified week. This week is known as the reference week and covers the period fromMonday to Sunday immediately preceding the week in which the interview is beingconducted. Most questions are, therefore, asked in terms of �last week�.

The dates for the reference week are automatically set when the interview/edit button isselected in the Household Details Document. The dates are substituted into the relevantlabour force questions.

You will be supplied with calendars which you should use if any respondent seems unsureabout the reference week when you are conducting the interview face-to-face. Indicate onthe calendar the time period to which you are referring in any particular question.Respondents often find consulting a calendar helpful, particularly shift-workers and otherswho work irregular hours from week to week. If you are conducting the interview bytelephone, suggest to the respondent that it might help if they were to look at a calendar ordiary.

5.4.2. "Quarter months" and "Non-quarter months"

A survey questionnaire is created for each month, consisting of the LFS and the relevantsupplementary questions. Two types of questionnaires are used for the LFS. The differencesbetween the questionnaires and when each is used are described below.

Quarter Months

In February, May, August and November, which are referred to as quarter months, the fullrange of LFS questions is asked. This includes details of occupation, industry, job tenure andunderemployment for those people who had a job or business in the reference week, and

the last job details for unemployed persons (that is, occupation, industry and reason for ceasinglast job). This information is not likely to change from month to month and is therefore notcollected monthly, to minimise the burden placed on respondents.

Non-quarter Months

For other months of the year (referred to as non-quarter months), the schedule excludesoccupation, industry, job tenure and underemployment questions which are only collected inquarter months.

5.4.3. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) Questions - Quarter Month

Q7 What is the postcode of the suburb or town where ..... usually lives?

This question is designed to obtain the place of usual residence for visitors to PDs and people inSDs, except institutionalised persons and boarding school pupils.

If the respondent knows the postcode, enter �1� in Q7A, and record the postcode in Q7B.

If the respondent does not know the postcode, ask for the suburb/town of the visitor�s usualresidence. Enter �2� in Q7A and enter the first three letters of the suburb/town to display the postcode coder. Select the suburb/town from the coder by highlighting it using the mouse and pressthe �select� button. The post code for the selected suburb/town will display on the Form Pane.

If you are unable to establish where a person usually lives, enter �3� in Q7A.

In some cases, people for whom Q7 is to be asked usually live at the selected specialdwelling; for example hotel, motel or caravan park owners or managers, or private hotel,boarding house or caravan park long-term residents. In these cases, mark code �1� in Q7A andrecord the postcode for the selected special dwelling in Q7B.

People who usually live overseas are out on scope (see section 5.3. for the survey rules ofscope). If, in answer to Q7, it emerges that a person usually lives overseas, treat the case as oneof scope exclusion i.e. do not ask any more questions for that person and record the scopeexclusion on the HF or SDF.

If a respondent queries why information is being sought about where a person usuallylives, explain that the statistics obtained from the survey would not be accurate if people werecounted where they happen to be temporarily staying, for example on holidays, as well as wherethey usually live.

Q17 Is ..... currently a full-time student at a TAFE, university or othereducational institution?

Aim

This question establishes whether people aged 15 to 19 who have left school (as recorded in theHF) and people aged 20 to 24 are currently undertaking a course of full-time secondary, tertiaryor further education at an educational institution.

Definition of �currently� studying

This means a course of study in which the person is currently enrolled and which has not beencompleted, and from which the person has not withdrawn - either officially or unofficially.


Comments

Problems may arise when you ask the question during holiday periods. During mid-term ormid-semester breaks record as �Yes� (code 1) people who are enrolled in a course of full-timestudy but are not physically attending the institution concerned because of the break.

More difficult problems may arise during the December, January, February holiday period.Record as �Yes� (code 1) people who were undertaking full-time study prior to the holidayperiod and will be returning to full-time study when courses recommence. (See �Use ofcode 6� below.)

Definition of full-time student

Definitions of what constitutes full-time study differ depending on the educational institutionconcerned. If the person is classified by the institution attended as a full-time student,record this as �Yes� (code 1).

Include

Trainee teachers and persons engaged in full-time correspondence courses.

Exclude

Apprentices who attend studies one day per week and persons currently on block release(i.e. their employer has arranged for, or sent them to study at an educational institution for agiven period of time, usually every 5 weeks or so).

Comment

Undertaking full-time study does not preclude a person from also working in a job, businessor farm.

Definition of educational institution

An educational institution is one in which the primary aim is education, although otheractivities (e.g. research) may also be conducted there.

Include

Educational institutions may be public or private and include Higher Education institutionsand Colleges of Technical and Further Education (TAFEs). Higher Education institutionsinclude universities (some of which were previously identified as Colleges of AdvancedEducation, [CAEs]); institutes of technology, arts, etc.; and some theological colleges.

Secondary schools are educational institutions, therefore include persons aged 20 to 24 whoare full-time students at secondary schools.

Exclude

People who are attending courses conducted by non-educational institutions (e.g. craftcourses run by the YMCA/YWCA) and courses run by the person�s employer (e.g. police,railway, Australia Post, Telstra, nursing training in hospitals).


Use of code 6

In some cases people may not know definitely whether they will be returning to full-time study.This may occur in cases of transition from school to tertiary or further education, or going fromone year of tertiary education to the next. The intention to return to full-time study may bedependent upon other factors such as finding work, getting a place in an educational institution oron results of examinations. Code 6 �Dec, Jan, Feb only - Not known, unclear� has been providedfor these cases. Note the following points about code 6.

This code is only to be used in the December, January and February surveys, not in any othermonths.

This code is only to be used when you have fully established that it is not known, due tofactors mentioned above, whether a person will be returning to full-time study.

Use of this code should be kept to a minimum. If the respondent thinks it likely that theperson will return to full-time studies, do not use code 3, but record as �Yes� (code 1).

Q19 I would like to ask about last week, that is, the week starting Monday the[substituted date] and ending last Sunday the [substituted date].

This introductory statement is to be read out as worded before asking Q19. It only needs to beread out once in an interview if the person answering the questions does not change.

If interviewing on a Monday the question will substitute �last Sunday the [substituted date]� with�yesterday�.

Aim

The statement is used to ensure that respondents understand what exactly is meant by the words�last week� in Q19 and subsequent questions.

The reference week is integral to the LFS and it is crucial to make sure that there is no confusion inrespondents� minds. This is particularly important when there are lengthy Supplementary Surveysor Supplementary Surveys with a different reference period.

Q19 Last week, did ..... do any work at all in a job, business or farm?

Aim

This question refers to what the person actually did during reference week, irrespective of whathe/she usually does. So if a person is normally a full-time university student but worked duringreference week in a vacation job, then the answer to this question would be �yes�.

Definitions

For the purposes of this survey, work means any activity in a job, business or farm for pay, profit,commission or payment in kind; or any activity in a family business that contributed to theoperation of that business although no payment was received. Unpaid voluntary work is excluded.

Pay means wages or salary; and includes retainer fees; tips; piece rates; or payment in kind; paidto the respondent, by their employer, for work done for that employer.


Comments

Testing has shown that this question can be misunderstood if read too fast. Speak slowlyand pause after the word �job�.

Permanently unable to work - This category may be used only if the respondentvolunteers that he/she or another member of the household is permanently unable to work.In this case, enter code �6� . No further LFS questions will be asked for that person. It isimportant that people volunteer this information and you do not enquire or lead them intomaking this statement.

You should not assume that the person is permanently unable to work (PUW) because ofapparent physical or intellectual disabilities. Many people with severe disabilities are able towork in sheltered workshops etc. Even a person on a TPI (Totally and PermanentlyIncapacitated) pension may be doing some work.

The purpose of this instruction is to avoid judgements being made based on appearance, oralability, etc., since such judgements may well be in error and the individuals concerned maybe working or seeking work.

If a respondent tells you that they are PUW, you should mark the Household DetailsDocument, under 'Special Notes' accordingly (e.g. Person 01 PUW). In the next month�ssurvey, Q19 should not be asked but should be coded to �6�. If you are uncertain about howto code a respondent, provide as much information as possible in the Field Query sectionunder the Remarks Tab and the office will make this decision.

Permanently not intending to work (if aged 65+ only) [PNITW] - This category isintended to reduce respondent burden for persons aged 65 years and over. This responsecategory is available in questions 19 to 23 because testing has shown that the informationmay not be volunteered immediately. If the respondent volunteers that he/she or anothermember of the household (aged 65 years and over) is not intending to work again in thefuture, enter code �7� (Q19) or code �6� (Q20 - Q23). These people will be asked no furtherLFS questions for that month but will be sequenced to the Supplementary Survey if this isapplicable to them.

If a respondent is aged 65 years or more, do not automatically assume that they will becoded to this category. It is important that people volunteer this information and you do notlead them into making this statement.

It should be noted that some aged people may be seeking work because they wish to work,and this should be recorded to enable them to be included in the survey results. To dootherwise is in fact discriminatory on age grounds.

If a respondent says he/she has retired, or gives a strong indication that they do not intendto work, you should probe to establish if he/she is permanently not intending to work byasking: Does ..... intend to work at any time in the future? This probe question should beasked as worded, just as if it were displayed on the Notebook screen.

Responses which constitute a strong indication that the respondent does not intend to workinclude:

�I�m retired�;

�I�m on the pension�;


�Look at my age/I�m too old�;

�I finished working years ago/won�t be going back to work�;

�I haven�t worked since I got married/have never worked�.

If a respondent says their partner�s situation is the same (i.e. �permanently not intending to work�-PNITW), you may choose to not ask Q19 when completing the partner�s schedule. Instead, youshould use the probe �You just told me that your (husband/wife/partner) is the same asyou. To confirm, does ..... intend to work at any time in the future?� Again, this probemust be asked as worded, and only if the respondent has already volunteered that their partner,who is aged 65 years or more, is in the same situation.

In second and subsequent months of interview, apply the same procedures as described above.Do not assume that a person is PNITW because this was the response given in the previousmonth. This response must be volunteered at Q19 to Q23 in every month of interview. TheHousehold Details Document must not contain a remark to show that a person is PNITW.

In the case of people who indicate that they are unable to work because they have been sick, orare elderly, infirm people, care should be taken to determine whether they would be moreappropriately coded as PUW.

Comments

�Permanently not intending to work� must only be marked for people aged 65 years or more whovolunteer that they are not intending to work in the future. They are then sequenced to thesupplementary topic (see comments at Q19).

Q20 Last week, did ..... do any work without pay in a family business?

Aim

A few people may misunderstand Q19 as referring to paid work only, so Q20 is asked as a check toensure that people who worked without pay in a family business are not omitted.

Q21 Did ..... have a job, business or farm that ..... was away from because ofholidays, sickness or any other reason?

Aim

This question identifies people who held a job but were absent from work during reference week.

Comments

People who have a job in which they have not yet worked, because they are waiting to start in thatjob, are to be classified as not having a job i.e. �No� - code 5.

Apart from people waiting to start a job, if the respondent is in doubt as to whether the personactually has a job (from which he/she was absent) enter a �Yes� answer (code 1). Answers tosubsequent questions will result in accurate classification of the person to the appropriate LabourForce grouping.

See comments in Q19 about �permanently not intending to work�.


Q22 At any time during the last 4 weeks has ..... been looking for full-timework?

Definition

For the purposes of this survey, full-time work means a job that involves 35 hours or morework a week.

Include

People who were seeking a business to buy or lease (rather than looking for work in theusual sense), in the last four weeks, should be recorded as looking for work in Q22 or Q23,whichever is applicable.

Comments

The most important point to note with this question is that the person should have beenlooking for full-time work at some time in the last four weeks. If the respondent isunsure of the reference period, show him/her the calendar or suggest he/she refers to adiary or calendar and explain that you mean the four weeks ending last Sunday (the end ofreference week).


Q23 Has ..... been looking for part-time work at any time during the last 4weeks? (see Q22)

Aim

This question is designed to find people who are looking for part-time work only.

Definition

For the purposes of this survey, part-time work means a job that involves less than 35 hourswork a week.


Q24 (You told me that ..... didn�t look for work during the last 4 weeks.)

Was that because ..... was waiting to start work ..... had already obtained?

Aim

This question identifies whether respondents who did not have a job in the reference week,and who did not look for work in the last four weeks, were waiting to start a new job orbusiness that they had already obtained. If so, they are asked whether they are available tostart work to determine whether or not they are �future starters�. In the LFS, �future starters�are classified as unemployed. Future starters are also identified through Q77-Q79 orQ81-Q84. People are sequenced to the appropriate questions according to their responses topreceding questions.

Comments

You may find that Q22 and Q23 provide a trigger for respondent discussion or queries. Thetext in brackets is included as an optional �reminder� of the respondent�s previous answers in


an effort to help the respondent re-focus on the questions whenever any such discussion occurs.

Q25 Did ..... have more than 1 job or business last week?

Comments

The respondent will give a positive answer to this question if:

the person worked in two or more jobs during reference week because:

he/she changed jobs during the week, or

he/she was a multiple job holder in that week.

the person held another job or business during reference week, but was absent from it thatweek because of holidays, strikes, or some other reason.

Some people may incorrectly answer �Yes� to this question. This may occur in cases ofself-employed people, people who worked at more than one location, sub-contractors who workedfor more than one contractor etc. These cases should be recorded in Q25 as follows.

A self-employed person should only be allocated to the �Yes� category if he/she either:

owned more than one business in which he/she actively participated; or

worked in another job for wages etc., in addition to his/her own business.

Employees working at different locations for the one employer (e.g. an employee of a cateringfirm, a carpenter working on different houses) or performing different tasks for the one employerare regarded as having only one job.

Q26 Was that because ..... changed jobs during the week?

Aim

This question simply determines whether the person was a multiple jobholder, or whether he/sheworked in two jobs because he/she left one job and started another during reference week.

Q27 The next few questions are about the work ..... does now.

The next few questions are about the job or business in which ..... usuallyworks the most hours, that is, ..... main job.

Aim

The statement in Q28 is read to ensure that information is provided in reference to the correct job.That is, the new job for people who have changed jobs, and the main job for multiple job holders.

Definition

A main job is the job in which the person usually works the most hours.

If the person works equal hours in two or more jobs, the main job is the one in which they earnthe most.


Comments

For those people who changed jobs during the reference week, the first statement is readout. This instructs the respondent to focus on the work the person does now (i.e. his/hernew job) even if the person only worked for one day in the new job and for four days in theold job. Please note that such people are not actually multiple job holders.

The second statement is read for multiple job holders and instructs them to focus on theirmain job.

You will need to ensure that the respondent takes time to select the appropriate job, andthat they continue to refer to the same job for all the questions that follow.

Q28 to Q32 General Information

Aim

Questions 28 to 32 are used to establish the person�s status in employment, i.e. whetherhe/she is an �employee�, an �employer�, an �own account worker� or a �contributing familyworker�.

Definitions

To help you understand the application of questions 28 to 32, the definitions of the status inemployment classifications are provided below.

Employee - is a person who works for a public or private employer and receivesremuneration in wages, salary, a retainer fee, tips, piece rates or payment in kind; or aperson who operates their own incorporated enterprise.

Employer - is a person who operates their own unincorporated enterprise and hires oneor more employees.

Own Account Worker - is a person who operates their own unincorporated businessand hires no employees.

Contributing Family Worker - is a person who works without pay in an enterpriseoperated by a relative.

Q28 Did ..... work for an employer, or in ..... own business?

Aim

This question is used to determine whether the person worked for an employer or in theirown business. According to their response they are sequenced to appropriate questions toconfirm their status in employment. If the answer is unknown, they are sequenced to Q30,which seeks further information to assist with correct classification.

... for an employer?

Definition

This category covers both private and government employees. It includes people paid wagesor salary, retainer fees, tips or piece rates by their employer, for work done for thatemployer.


... in ..... own business?

Definition

This category covers self-employed people who worked in their own business during referenceweek, either with or without employees. It includes partners and people working on commissiononly.

Q29 Is ..... paid a wage or salary, or some other form of payment?

Aim

This question is asked of people who say they worked for an employer in Q28 to confirm that theyare in fact �employees� according to the National Accounts definition, i.e. they are paid in the formof wages or salary.

Definitions

A wage is an hourly rate paid to an employee, i.e. the amount of pay the employee receivesdepends on the number of hours he/she works.

A salary is a fixed annual amount divided into equal instalments over the year, e.g. weekly,fortnightly, or monthly. A salaried employee may also receive other pay during the year, e.g.overtime, allowances, bonuses, etc.

Comments

The respondent does not need to differentiate between wage and salary. It is only necessary todetermine if the respondent is paid one of these or some other form of payment.

Casuals are often paid on an hourly basis and so are included here as wage earners. Casualteachers are usually paid a salary with the amount paid per day determined as a proportion of thisannual salary.

Q30 What are ..... working/payment arrangements?

Aim

This question is provided to make it easier to classify those people who do not identify themselvesas fitting into categories �working for employer� or �working in own business� at Q28, or whoindicate that they receive some form of payment other than a wage or salary in Q29.

Comments

�working arrangements� is the substituted wording used for responses of �Other/Uncertain�, code �3�in Q28.

�payment arrangements� is the substituted wording for responses of �Other/Uncertain�, code �2� inQ29.

A multiple job holder�s main job must be paid, not unpaid voluntary work. If a multiplejob holder is an unpaid voluntary worker in his/her main job (i.e. Code �1� in Q30/Q49), probe witha question such as, �Are you paid or do you receive payment in kind for your second job?� If �yes�,you will need to return to Q25/Q45 and ask the question again in relation to paid jobs only. Thepaid job identified in Q25 (or Q27) will then be considered his/her main job for the purposes of the


survey. You will need to explain that the LFS collects information on current economicactivity and that paid work (or payment in kind) is the focus of this interest.

Definitions

Code 01 - Unpaid voluntary work

This category refers to people who worked during reference week for a charitable or otherorganisation and received no pay (either monetary or in kind) other than reimbursement ofexpenses incurred while working.

Unpaid voluntary work is not work within the LFS definition of work, and so these people aresequenced to the questions which determine whether they are also looking for work.

Code 02 - Contractor/Subcontractor

This category refers to people who worked on a contract basis. A contract is an agreementbetween parties (people or groups) for one party to provide the other with a defined service(labour, equipment, expertise, etc.) for a specified period and for a predetermined fee. Thecontract usually specifies payment arrangements, conditions, volume or type of work to beproduced, etc.

A contractor may have more than one contract with several different clients or with the sameclient under different agreements. However, a builder contracted to put up frames for theone company under the one agreement but in different locations is still under one contract.

A subcontractor is a person who worked on contract for another contractor. For example, abuilder responsible for building an entire house from start to finish may subcontract out theelectrical work to an electrician - in this case, the electrician is the subcontractor.

Code 03 - Own business/Partnership

This category refers to persons who were working in their own business, as a sole trader orin a professional practice (e.g. solicitor�s practice), either on their own or in association withother persons.

Code 04 - Commission only

This category refers to people who received payments for services rendered based on thevalue or volume of the money, goods or material produced or the services rendered. Acommission is usually a fixed percentage of this value or volume. This category includessales staff who receive payment in relation to the volume or value of the sales made bythem.

People included here must not receive a retainer (defined below) from their employer.

Code 05 - Commission with retainer

This category applies to people who receive both a commission (as defined above) and aretainer from their employer.

A retainer is a base amount paid to people on a regular basis regardless of the value orvolume of material or services produced.


Code 06 - In a family business without pay

This refers to people who worked without monetary payment during the reference week in abusiness owned and operated by a relative. If such a person had not received wages, salaryetc. but did receive payment in kind e.g. groceries, materials, board and lodging, then he/sheshould still be coded to this category.

Be aware when coding people to this category as they may in fact be partners in the business, inwhich case they should go into code 03 (�Own business/Partnership�). This is particularly importantin the case of the spouse of a self-employed person.

Code 07 - Payment in kind

This category refers to people who worked without monetary payment during reference week in abusiness not owned and operated by a relative. Payment for work done would be in a form otherthan wages, salaries, commission, tips, etc. e.g. free board and lodging, free meals, free goods orservices from the business.

Code 08 - Paid by the piece/item produced

This category refers to workers who were paid on the basis of their individual units of output orproduction, i.e. per �piece�. People who are paid by the piece/item produced are often called �pieceworkers�, and may also be called �out workers�.

Typically, piece workers work at home (i.e. not under the direct supervision of an employer). Thepiece worker undertakes to produce a certain amount of goods or services for one or moreemployers. The employer may allocate the whole or part of the final production to a piece worker.Often piece workers provide their own raw materials and machinery (e.g. someone whomanufactures whole or parts of pieces of clothing may use their own sewing machine).

People such as those who deliver pamphlets and newspapers and who are paid a set amount peritem delivered are also included.

Code 09 - Wage/salary earner

This category covers both private and government employees whose income was paid in the formof a wage or salary during the reference week. See definitions and comments at Q29.

Code 10 - Other

Use this category if the answer given by the respondent does not fit into any of the othercategories. There is no need to record the exact details of the response. Occasionally, data aboutthese responses will be required for analysis. In this case you will be instructed to complete aField Query Form to record the information provided.

Q31 Does ..... have employees in that business?

Does ..... have employees?

Definition

This question applies to self-employed persons who may have employed people in their businessfor wages/salary/payment in kind, on a full-time or part-time basis during the reference week.


Comments

The words, �in that business� are substituted in this question if respondents answered �Ownbusiness� in Q28, or �Own business/Partnership� in Q30. Respondents who answered�Contractor/Subcontractor� or �Commission only� in Q30 are asked �Does ..... haveemployees?�.

Q32 Is that business incorporated?

Aim

This question identifies whether the legal arrangements of the business mean that a personis an �employee� of that business or not. When a business is incorporated, its owners areconsidered to be employees of that business. This means, for example, that they are notliable for the company�s debts in the event of bankruptcy.

Definition

An �incorporated� business is a company that has a registered business name with theAustralian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC) and a legal status which is separate tothat of the individuals involved.

The following points apply if a business is incorporated:

�Incorporated�, �Limited�, �Proprietary Limited�, or �No Liability� (or the abbreviations�Ltd.�, �Pty. Ltd.� or �N.L.�) must appear in the company�s name.

The business must be registered with the ASIC.

The company may be sued to recover the company�s debts, but the directors orshareholders may not.

Comments

It has been shown that differences occur between what a person may understand by �ownbusiness� and the definitions necessary for survey purposes. For example, many peopleregard a director, particularly a working director, as �in own business�, whereas he/she isactually a salaried employee of the company if the business is a limited liability company.

Therefore, Q32 is asked as a check in those cases where the answer to Q28 is �Ownbusiness� - code 2, or Q30 is a �Contractor/Subcontractor�, �Own business/Partnership� or�Commission only� (i.e. codes 02, 03 or 04).

A person may be registered (in their State) as a sole trader (own name or trade name),partnership (own name or trade name) or firm (business name) and may think of thebusiness as a �company�, but it is not legally a company unless it is registered as such withthe ASC and should then have �Ltd.�, �Pty. Ltd.� or �N.L.� in the company�s name.

Simply record the answer given by the respondent to Q32 unless the respondent querieswhat is meant by �incorporated business� or does not know the answer to the question. Inthese cases explain what an incorporated business is using the definition above.

If the respondent is still unclear you should ask if any relevant documents (e.g. letters orreceipt books stating the full name of the business) are available for the respondent to


consult. If you still cannot verify the status of the company or business, enter as �No� (code 5).

If the respondent says that only part of the business is incorporated, enter code 1 (�Yes�).

Q33 I would now like to ask about when ..... worked in ..... main job last week.

I would now like to ask about when ..... worked last week.

Q33a (Remembering that Monday was a public holiday) did ..... work in that jobon Monday?

Q33b (Remembering that Tuesday was a public holiday did ..... work in that jobon) Tuesday?

Q33b (Remembering that Wednesday was a public holiday did ..... work in that jobon) Wednesday?

Q33b (Remembering that Thursday was a public holiday did ..... work in that jobon) Thursday?

Q33b (Remembering that Friday was a public holiday did ..... work in that job on)Friday?

Q33f (Did you work in that job on) Saturday?

Q33g (Did you work in that job on) Sunday?

Aim

This question is used (in conjunction with Q35 and Q36) to focus respondents on the concept ofactual hours worked to help ensure that actual hours are reported accurately in Q38 and Q39. Ithas been shown that, without these prompts, respondents tend to report usual hours workedrather than actual hours worked in Q38 and Q39.

Comments

An optional prompt has been included in Q33 to remind respondents about any public holidayswhich occurred in the reference week. This is to be read out only when applicable (i.e. only whena public holiday has occurred in the reference week).

When prompting for public holidays you should only prompt for National and State public holidaysas opposed to religious/special holidays. A list of relevant National and State public holidays isshown on your PSO calendar.

If you are aware of a particular regional holiday which affects the area in which you areinterviewing, you should prompt for that. The intention is to prompt only for public holidays thatapply to the majority of the community.

If interviewing face-to-face use the calendar if necessary, or ask the respondent to refer to acalendar or diary. Doing this will allow some time for the respondent to think about the daysworked that week and whether any weekend work was done or any days off were taken as youread out each day.

This question must be asked as worded, even if the respondent pre-empts or cuts short thequerying of each day by a statement such as �every weekday�. You must still read each day withsufficient pause to obtain an answer.


Q35 On the days that ..... worked, did ..... have any time off?

On the days that ..... worked in that job, did ..... have any time off?

Comments

Include any time off the person may have had on one or more of the days stated on whichhe/she worked last week, e.g. an hour off to go to an appointment, an afternoon off to playsport.

The words �in that job� display on the screen for multiple job holders (�2� in Q26), to ensurethat they are answering in relation to the person�s main job.

The actual number of hours taken off is not required for this question as it is asked to jog therespondent�s memory to assist in obtaining an accurate response to Q38 and/or Q39.

Q36 Did ..... work any extra hours or overtime?

Comments

As with Q35, the actual number of extra hours is not required.

Q38 How many hours did ..... actually work in ..... main job last week?

How many hours did ..... actually work in ..... main job last week lessthe time off?

How many hours did ..... actually work in ..... main job last weekcounting the extra hours worked?

How many hours did ..... actually work in ..... main job last week lessthe time off but counting the extra hours worked)?

Aim

Question 38 is asked of multiple job holders only, unless they were away from their mainjob last week. It collects details of the hours actually worked by a multiple job holder in theirmain job. Hours worked in all jobs are collected in Q39.

Comments

There are four possible ways in which this question could be worded, depending on theresponses given at Q35 and Q36. If the person had any time off from work or worked anyovertime last week, the Notebook screen will display the wording �less the time off� and/or�counting the extra hours worked� to jog the respondent�s memory where appropriate.

Time spent by self-employed persons in seeking customers for a product or service (e.g.tendering for contracts, visiting prospective clients) should be considered as �work� and thehours spent doing this is recorded in the question.

If queried by the respondent, you may clarify what is included/excluded from �hours worked�.

Lunch breaks should not be counted as hours worked.

Morning/afternoon tea breaks are counted as hours worked.


Paid and unpaid time �on call� is not counted as hours worked.

Time spent travelling to work is counted as hours worked for self-employed people only.

Time off during working hours to attend university, technical or other college classes is notcounted as hours worked.

Fractions of hours should be ignored. Hence, if a person worked 37¾ hours, enter �37� at thisquestion. If the person worked 99 hours or more during the reference week, enter �99� hours inanswer to this question.

If someone worked for less than one hour that week, you should enter �0� in Q38.

If the respondent is unable to answer Q33, Q35 and Q36 for another person in the household,then arrange to call back to obtain the details directly from the person concerned. It may still bepossible, however, to obtain an accurate answer from the respondent by going through start andfinish times for each day the person worked, deducting any time off and adding on any extra hoursworked.

Remember to include in Q38 and/or Q39 all extra hours worked, whether officially called �overtime�or not.

Q39 How many hours did ..... actually work last week?

How many hours did ..... actually work last week less the time off?

How many hours did ..... actually work last week less the time off butcounting the extra hours worked?

How many hours did ..... actually work last week counting the extra hoursworked?

How many hours did ..... actually work in all ..... jobs last week?

How many hours did ..... actually work in all ..... jobs last week less the timeoff?

How many hours did ..... actually work in all ..... jobs last week less the timeoff but counting the extra hours worked?

How many hours did ..... actually work in all ..... jobs last week counting theextra hours worked?

Aim

This question is asked of single job holders and multiple job holders. This question refers tohours worked in all jobs during the reference week, including hours worked without pay in a familybusiness or for payment in kind, but excluding unpaid voluntary work.

Comments

Refer to comments at Q38.

The words �in all ..... jobs� will be substituted in the question if the respondent had more than onejob in reference week.


Q40 How many hours does ..... usually work each week in that job?

How many hours does ..... usually work each week in that business?

How many hours does ..... usually work each week in all ..... jobs?

Aim

This question is asked to collect broad information about usual working hours.

Definition

Usual hours refers to the normal working pattern over the last 3 months.

This question is asked three times in the questionnaire. If the person:

actually worked 35 hours or more last week, he/she will be sequenced to Q40;

actually worked 1 to 34 hours last week, he/she will be sequenced to Q42; or

actually worked less than 1 hour last week (or was away from work last week), he/shewill be sequenced to Q53 which leads to the job attachment questions. If thesequestions determine that the person is attached to their job (i.e. they have been away forless than four weeks or have been paid for any part of the last four weeks), they will beasked usual hours at Q59.

The same question appears at Q40, Q42 and Q59 because three populations need to besequenced very differently throughout the rest of the questionnaire.

Comments

The three alternative wordings should be used as follows.

that job is substituted in the question for people who worked in a �job� (i.e. code �1� inQ29/Q48, codes �05-10� in Q30/Q49).

that business is substituted for people who worked in a business (i.e. Q31/Q50 isanswered).

all jobs is substituted for multiple job holders (i.e. code �2� in Q26 or code �1� in Q45).

Note that these questions ask about the person�s usual situation and do not just refer to thereference week.

Overtime is included if it has been a regular part of the person�s working arrangements overthe last 3 months.

For multiple job holders, this question refers to their usual hours of work in all jobs, notjust their jobs in the reference week.

These questions will capture single value responses only. If a person�s hours vary, it may beuseful to probe for likely hours.

If the respondent gives the number of usual hours worked as a range, you should first askfor their best estimate. For example, if the respondent says �Between 20 and 25 hours�, youshould ask �Would it be closer to 20 hours or closer to 25 hours?� If the respondent still


cannot provide a single figure, you will need to calculate the mid-point of that range and thenrecord the single figure mid-point against the applicable response category. Using the sameexample, the mid-point would be 22 ½ hours, but since you are instructed to round down, youwould record 22 hours.

If the respondent is unsure what the usual hours are, the following rule should be applied. If overthe last 3 months, the person worked more weeks of 35 hours (or more) than he/she worked ofless than 35 hours, then the answer to this question would be �a� (35 hours or more) and theappropriate number of hours entered in the box.

Q42 How many hours does ..... usually work each week in that job? (See Q40)

How many hours does ..... usually work each week in that business? (SeeQ40)

How many hours does ..... usually work each week in all ..... jobs)? (See Q40)

Q43 What was the main reason ..... worked less than 35 hours last week?

Aim

This question is asked of people who usually work 35 hours or more a week but worked less thanthis in the reference week. The main purpose of this question is to establish whether the personworked less than 35 hours in the reference week due to economic or non-economic reasons.People who worked less than 35 hours for economic reasons, (codes 4, 5 and 7) are regarded asworking these hours involuntarily and are therefore classified as being underemployed.Non-economic categories are provided to make coding easier during the interview.

Comments

This question asks for the main reason, and therefore only one response is allowed.

If problems occur in deciding which category is appropriate you should bear in mind the followingpoints.

Holiday/Flextime/Study/Personal reasons covers answers such as public holidays,personal reasons, death in the family, attend funeral, husband/wife sick, sick child, study leave,time off for exams, maternity leave, attending conferences, etc.

Own illness or injury/Sick leave covers a person�s own sick leave or injury.

Standard work arrangements/Shift work/RDO covers people who work a nine dayfortnight, or shifts, or similar arrangements, and were rostered off sometime during thereference week.

RDO refers to a day off resulting from a working arrangement that involves everyone at theworkplace, or everyone working for the same employer, working extra hours each day andreceiving in lieu a day off, for example, each month or fortnight on a rostered basis.

Include an �Accrued Day Off� (ADO).

Stood down/On short time/Insufficient work covers people who worked less hours thannormal due to economic and industrial reasons, e.g. lack of demand, industrial dispute byother workers, shortage of materials. �Laid off� means the same as �stood down�.


Bad weather/Plant breakdown covers situations where work had to stop because of temporary circumstances (over which the employer had no control but not due toeconomic or industrial reasons) at the person�s place of employment e.g. a bricklayerwho worked less hours because of heavy rain at the building site where he works, a truckdriver whose truck was out of service and was being repaired or a farmer who workedless hours than usual in reference week because of the effects of drought.

Began/left/lost job during week covers people who commenced or left a job, otherthan for economic or industrial reasons, during the reference week.

On strike/Locked out/Industrial dispute covers both legal and illegal forms of strikeaction. Only include cases where the person was actually on strike, or locked out, andnot just affected (i.e. stood down, on short time) by a strike by another group ofworkers. For example, if the respondent replies, �Because of the strike at the factory�,find out if the person him/herself was actually on strike.

Other - Use this category only if the answer given by the respondent does not fit intoany of the other categories. See comments at Q30 - code 10.

Q45 Did ..... have more than 1 job or business last week? (See Q25)

Questions 45-59 are asked about people who were away from their job in the referenceweek to establish the status in employment and job attachment of these people.

Q46 The next few questions are about the job or business in which .....usually works the most hours.

Aim

This statement is read to ensure that people who had more than one job in the referenceweek answer the subsequent questions in relation to their main job only. This question hasthe same purpose as Q27B.

Q47 Does ..... work for an employer, or in ..... own business? (See Q28)

Q48 Is ..... paid a wage or salary, or some other form of payment? (SeeQ29)

Q49 What are ..... working arrangements? (See Q30)

Q49 What are ..... payment arrangements? (See Q30)

Q50 Does ..... have employees? (See Q31)

Q50 Does ..... have employees (in that business)? (See Q31)

Q51 Is that business incorporated? (See Q32)

Q53 & Q58 What was the main reason ..... was away from work last week?

Aim

Question 53 is asked of employees and Q58 of self-employed people, in order to find outtheir main reason for being absent from work for all of the reference week. The questionserves a similar purpose to Q43. That is, if a person usually works 35 hours or more a week,and was away in the reference week for economic reasons they would be classified as


underemployed workers. Q53 is also important for ensuring that different groups of people aresequenced to the appropriate questions applicable to their circumstances.

Comments

The response categories are different for Q53 and Q58. This is because many of the responsecategories in Q53 are not appropriate for self-employed persons, such as flextime and sick leave.In most cases the appropriate category in which to record the main reason for absence will beobvious from the respondent�s answer. See comments at Q43.

Q54 Was ..... on workers� compensation last week?

Aim

This question is asked to identify persons who were away from work last week due to own illnessor injury and who were on workers� compensation. Persons on workers� compensation who expectto be returning to their employer (Q55, code 1) are regarded as having job attachment (and aretherefore classified as employed).

Q55 Will ..... be returning to work for ..... employer?

Comments

In this question we are referring to the person�s employer in their main job. The employer�s nameis recorded in Q67. You should mark �Don�t know� if the return to work is dependent on medicaladvice.

Q56 Up until the end of last week, how long had ..... been away from work?

Aim

Together with Q57, Q56 is asked to establish job attachment for the majority of people who wereaway from their work last week. People who have been away for four weeks or more without payare considered to no longer have attachment to their job. They are sequenced to further questionsto establish whether they are unemployed or NILF.

Comments

Include the week of reference week in your calculations. Parts of a week should be discarded,rounding down to the nearest whole number.

Q57 Was ..... paid, or will ..... be paid, for any part of the last 4 weeks?

Aim

See comments at Q56.

Comments

A �yes� answer should be recorded if the person has received (or expects to receive) holiday pay,sick leave pay, maternity leave pay, a lump sum, or any other form of payment covering a part orall of the four weeks up to the end of reference week.


Q58 What was the main reason ..... was away from work last week? (SeeQ53)

Q59 How many hours does ..... usually work each week in that job? (SeeQ40)

Q59 How many hours does ..... usually work each week in that business?(See Q40)

Q59 How many hours does ..... usually work each week in all ..... jobs? (SeeQ40)

COMMENTS on Q60 to Q72

These questions are collected in quarter months only.

Q60 Would ..... prefer to work more hours than ..... usually works?

Aim

This question is used to identify persons who are underemployed, i.e. those who wouldprefer to work more hours than they currently do, whether in their current job or in a newjob. We are seeking the person�s preferences regardless of any constraints associated withhis/her current job.

Q61 Last week, was ..... available to work more hours than ..... usuallyworks?

Aim

People preferring more hours of work are assessed for their availability to work more hoursin the reference week, in line with the unemployment availability criteria.

Q62 In the last 4 weeks, has ..... done anything to obtain more hours ofwork?

Q63 Does ..... want to work 35 hours or more a week?

Aim

Question 62 determines whether people preferring more work had been looking for morehours of work and Q63 establishes whether the person wants to work full-time.

Together Q62 and Q63 identify the following population groups:

People who were looking for extra part-time work with their current or another employer;and

People who were looking for work of 35 hours or more, with their current or anotheremployer.

Comments

If the respondent asks which four weeks you are referring to, explain that you mean the fourweeks ending last Sunday (the end of the reference week).


Q64

Category 01 At any time in the last 4 weeks has ..... asked ..... current employerfor more hours?

Category 02 (At any time in the last 4 weeks) has ..... written, phoned or appliedin person to another employer for work?

Category 02 (At any time in the last 4 weeks) has ..... written, phoned or appliedin person to an employer for work?

Category 03 (At any time in the last 4 weeks has) ..... answered anadvertisement for a job?

(At any time in the last 4 weeks has) ..... looked in newspapers?

Category 04 (At any time in the last 4 weeks has) ..... checked factory noticeboards, or used the touchscreen at Centrelink offices?

Category 05 At any time in the last 4 weeks has ..... have you been registeredwith Centrelink as a jobseeker?

Category 06 (At any time in the last 4 weeks has) ..... checked or registered withan employment agency?

Category 07 (At any time in the last 4 weeks has) ..... done anything else to finda job?

Aim

This question is designed to find out what steps a person took to look for more hours of work atany time during the last four weeks. The categories are similar to the categories used to test foractive job search activity for unemployed persons (see Q75). In this question however, an extracategory is added to cater for people who have sought more hours with their current employer.

Comments

The questions are asked in the order presented above. Once a �Yes� response is received for one ofthe questions you will be sequenced to Q65A.

�..... asked ..... current employer for more hours?�

This wording is substituted in the question for persons that are not self-employed (Q31 orQ50 are not answered).

�written, phoned or applied in person to another employer for work?�

If you have been sequenced to the first category, then the word �another� will besubstituted in the category 02 question if required to be asked, otherwise �an� will besubstituted in category 02.

�looked in newspapers?� Enter �Yes� or �No�, as applicable.

Regardless of whether this answer is �Yes� or �No�, you will be sequenced to the category04 question . Note that these are not coded responses.


�done anything else to find a job?�

If the answer given to �done anything else to find a job?� belongs in code 'Advertisedor tendered for work� (code �1�) or �Contacted friends or relatives� (code�2�) enter theapplicable code. Then you will be sequenced to Q65A.

If the person has done nothing else and you have recorded �Yes� to �looked innewspapers?� enter code �4� (�Only looked in newspapers�). If the person has donenothing else and �No� is recorded in answer to �looked in newspapers?� enter code �5�(�None of these�).

If the respondent�s answer to �done anything else to find a job?� obviously belongs inone of the categories 01 to 06 (i.e. he/she misunderstood the question when firstasked) go back to the correct category (pg up) and enter code 1 �Yes�, then select F5to sequence to Q65A - do not use �Other� (code 03) in these cases.

If in response to �done anything else to find a job?�, someone indicates that theyanswered an advertisement from any source other than a newspaper, (e.g. jobsdatabase), go back to category 02 question and enter code 1 - do not use �Other�(code 3) in these cases.

�Other� (code 3) is only to be used in cases where the respondent�s answer does notfit into any of the categories.

Note the following points about Q64.

A few people may misunderstand category 02 so category 03 is asked (when the answerto category 02 is �No�), although the person would probably have performed one of thetasks in 02 in order to answer an advertisement.

Category 04 includes cases where a respondent indicates that they checked theAustralian Job Search touchscreen services at the Centrelink office. If someone indicatesthat they checked the Australian Job Search database via the Internet this is to berecorded as �Yes� under �looked in newspapers�.

Include in category 04 cases where the person has checked construction site noticeboards.

The purpose of repeating the phrase �At any time in the last 4 weeks has .....� prior tocategory 05, is to focus respondents� attention again on the four week reference periodfor this question.

Category 05 covers cases where initial registration as a Jobseeker with Centrelink wasduring the last four weeks. It also includes cases in which initial registration was prior tothe four week period but the persons concerned were still registered for some or all ofthat four weeks.

�checked or registered with an employment agency� (category 06) refers to private sectoremployment agencies and any government employment type agencies e.g. EmploymentNational, State Apprenticeship Boards. To be included in category 06, the person musthave registered with an employment agency during the last four weeks or, if he/she hadregistered more than four weeks ago, have checked with the agency for work in the lastfour weeks either in person, by phone or by mail.


People looking for a business to buy or lease (rather than looking for work in the usual sense)will usually have approached prospective vendors, answered advertisements or placedadvertisements. These steps should be coded as follows:

approached a prospective vendor (in person, by phone or by mail), code 1 (�Yes�) in thecategory 02 question;

answered advertisements in newspapers, trade journals etc., code 1 (�Yes�) in the category03 question;

placed advertisements, enter code 1 (�Advertised or tendered for work�) in category 07question;

contacting friends or relatives may have been the only step taken, in which case code 2(�Contacted friends/relatives�) applies in the category 07 question; and

some types of business are sold through business brokers or agencies; cases where thestep taken has been to engage the services of such agencies to look for a business on theperson�s behalf should be entered as code 1 (�Yes�) in the category 06 question.

Q65A What was ..... occupation in that job?

What was ..... occupation in ..... main job?

What was ..... occupation in that business?

What was ..... occupation in ..... main business?

What is ..... occupation in that job?

What is ..... occupation in ..... main job?

What is ..... occupation in that business?

What is ..... occupation in ..... main business?

Q65B What were ..... main tasks and duties?

What are ..... main tasks and duties?

Aim

This question is designed to obtain a clear, adequate description of the person�s occupation. Bothparts of the question must be asked as worded, even if the respondent�s answer provides aresponse to the second part of the question first. The question does not refer to the person�susual occupation, but to his/her actual occupation during reference week.


Definitions

The occupation information you collect is coded to the Australian Standard Classification ofOccupations (ASCO). This classification was developed as the national standard occupationclassification to be used by organisations and individuals concerned with the occupationalstructure of the Australian labour force. The principles used in developing the classificationfollow international practice and the use of ASCO enables comparisons to be made betweenAustralian and overseas labour force information.

ASCO groups occupations together according to their similarity in terms of type of workperformed. In ASCO, type of work is interpreted in terms of the tasks and duties actuallyperformed by workers. It is not possible to provide a simple but fully precise definition ofwhat constitutes an adequate occupation description for accurate coding to ASCO. Thenature of occupation descriptions as used in Australian labour market conditions and thestructure of ASCO preclude this. However, as a guide, the nature of responses which arerequired for accurate coding to ASCO can be broadly categorised into three types.

The name or title of the job where it provides an adequate description of the workinvolved, for example: bank manager; barrister; dentist; lawyer; panelbeater; solicitor;taxi driver; kitchenhand.

A complete description of the task or duties performed, for example: driving taxis;primary school teaching; painting portraits; training race horses. In many cases thedescription of the task is simply an alternative wording for the name or title of the job,for example: taxi driver/driving taxis.

A combination of title and task information where title alone is not sufficient and taskdetails alone do not convey adequately the nature of the job.

Comments

For multiple job holders you should only collect information about the person�s main job.

For accurate coding to ASCO, it is necessary to obtain as precise a description as possible ofthe occupation title and the main activities, tasks or duties that the person undertook in thejob in which he/she worked during the reference week. If necessary, you must probe toobtain a description that is as precise as possible. Be guided in this by your own judgement.If you are not able to detail clearly what a person did, the office coders will not be able tocode the respondent�s occupation accurately.

Some general points and specific instructions are provided below to assist you in determiningwhen to obtain additional information. If you are in any doubt about the adequacy of theinformation you have obtained, record more details to assist the office coders. If the officecoders cannot code occupation details accurately and consistently, survey results will beinaccurate, misleading and of no value to those wishing to use the statistics.

Never record vague and general occupation descriptions or job titles such as worker,hand, employee, operator, engineer, tradesperson or manager. It is not sufficient eitherto use terms like chemical worker, foundry hand, factory hand, factory worker, textileemployee or company director. These terms are not an adequate description of aperson�s occupation. You should find out the person�s specific trade, activities, tasksor duties.

Obtain a full description of the person�s main tasks and/or duties, e.g. �operated amachine for cutting cardboard sheets to be made into cardboard boxes� is much better


than �cardboard worker�, which could refer to a number of different occupations being carriedout by people working in a factory where cardboard is made or where cardboard is being usedin a production process.

In all cases be careful not to only record official sounding titles which do not convey specificinformation (e.g. Community Developer; Dairy Advisor; Food Manufacturer; Plant Wholesaler).Augment such job titles with information about what the person/actually did, what his/hermain activities, tasks and duties were and what goods/services wereproduced/provided during reference week.

Many occupation terms or job titles in general use in the community need additional qualifyinginformation to enable accurate coding. Occupation terms in common usage frequently refer to anumber of basically different occupations which are classified to different groups in ASCO.Examples of frequently used terms which do not provide sufficient information for coding are listedbelow. Each requires additional information before it can be coded to the specific ASCO group thataccurately classifies the person�s occupation. Do not simply enter any of the terms listed, in eachcase obtain the required additional information. You should always try to enter an occupation titleand task information to enable more accurate coding.

Accountant/Accountancy/Accounting - if any of these terms are used to describe a person�soccupation (or similar phrases such as �doing accounts� or �accounts work�), establish whether theperson concerned was working as a chartered accountant; public accountant; bank accountant;accounts clerk or bookkeeper.

Apprentice - enter the trade to which the person was apprenticed, e.g. apprentice carpenter;apprentice hairdresser.

Assistant - describe the kind of work the person assisted in or the occupation of the personassisted, e.g. assistant librarian; assistant storeman; plumber�s assistant.

Attendant - enter the type of attendant, e.g. driveway; cabin; first aid.

Builder/Building Contractor - the terms �builder� and �building contractor� are inadequateoccupation titles. Sometimes they are used for trade occupations, especially bricklaying andcarpentry, and sometimes for managerial occupations. You should find out whether the personconcerned did any bricklaying; carpentry; plastering etc. or the tasks involved were all managerialor administrative, e.g. organising contracts; ordering materials; subcontracting or organisinglabour.

Charge Hand/Foreman/Leading Hand - these are status terms and you should find out whatkind of work was carried out by the people that the person was in charge of, e.g. charge handplumber; leading hand fitter (electrical); foreman grinding mill (grinding mineral ore).

Clerk - enter the type of clerk, e.g. Accounts Clerk; Filing Clerk; Bookmaker�s Clerk; Payroll Clerk,and the type of clerical duties performed, e.g. processing orders; recording and paying accounts;photocopying; filing; answering the telephone. If the person was employed in the Public Servicethe �class� or �grade� should also be recorded, e.g. Australian Public Service (APS) level.

Consultant/Contractor - ask what the person actually did and record fully, e.g. ComputerProgramming Consultant; Consultant - Civil Engineer; Investment Consultant; Plumbing Contractor;Electrical Contractor. Note that some people refer to themselves as �consultants� when in fact theyare shop assistants or sales representatives, e.g. some people describe themselves as �cosmeticconsultant� or �beauty consultant� when �shop assistant, selling cosmetics� is a more accuratedescription.


Cook - enter the type of cook or type of cooking and the type of premises worked in, e.g.fries food in fast-food outlet; pastry cook in cake shop; cooks daily meals for staff canteen;chef in a restaurant; cooks vegetables in a food cannery; cooks jam in a factory.

Council Worker - find out the capacity in which the person was employed by the council,e.g. tractor driver; garbageman; accounts clerk.

Director - enter whether finance; art; television; marketing etc.

Draftsperson - enter the type of drafting involved, e.g. architectural; aircraft engineering;cartographic; civil engineering; structural engineering.

Driver - state the type of vehicle or equipment driven and the service provided, e.g. driver -taxi; hire-car; crane; earth-moving equipment; delivery truck; forklift.

Engineer - the term �engineer� is used to describe a variety of occupations. It can mean aprofessional engineer who designs structures or systems or oversees large projects; or it canmean someone who repairs or services appliances or fittings. You should determine whetherthey are a professional engineer or a repairer/serviceperson. For professional engineers, youshould record the branch of engineering involved, e.g. civil; mechanical; electrical; chemical;automotive. For repairers, you should record what they repair. For example, for personsdescribed as �automotive engineers� it is necessary to establish whether they design orrepair motor vehicles.

Farmer - enter the type of crop or livestock farmed, e.g. sheep and wheat; dairy cattle;cotton.

Inspector - enter the type of inspector, e.g. safety; works; police.

Laboratory Technician - obtain a full description of the main tasks performed and the typeof laboratory worked in, e.g. photographic; medical; chemical laboratory.

Labourer - ask in what sort of workplace the labouring activity occurred (e.g. building site;wharf; paint factory; sheep farm; open-cut bauxite mine) and the tasks the personperformed. Note that some process workers and machine operators may describethemselves as �labourers�. For accurate coding, obtain a full description of the main taskswhich the �labourer� was asked to perform, e.g. loading and unloading trucks; cleaning upbuilding site and mixing concrete.

Machinist/Machine Operator - enter the type of machine used and the type of materialsworked on, e.g. extruding machine - plastic; sewing machine - textiles; packaging machine -canned foods.

Manager - find out what type of establishment the person managed or, in the case of largecompanies, the specific areas of managerial concern, e.g. Sales Manager (Real Estate);Production Manager (Engineering); Manager, Shoe Department; Service Station Manager;Finance Manager; Personnel Manager.

Mechanic - find out what sort of mechanic, e.g. electrical; motor; dental; instrument.

Nurse - for accurate coding it is necessary to find out whether the person is a registerednurse, an enrolled nurse or was in a nursing support occupation, e.g. nurse�s assistant;assistant in nursing; ward helper; veterinary. For registered nurses, it is also essential toidentify the particular branch of nursing, e.g. midwifery; mental health; general nursing.


Officer - enter the type of officer in as much detail as possible, e.g. scientific - agriculture, marinebiology; technical - civil engineering; telecommunications; geology; youth.

Operator - enter the type of operator, e.g. bulldozer; crane; sewing machine; word processing;metal press.

Packer - ask if the person concerned operated a packaging machine or was a �hand packer�;record also what goods or materials were being packed.

Painter - find out exactly what type of painting the person was engaged in, e.g. house painting;spraypainting of vehicles in a repair workshop; spray painting of vehicles in a factory;spraypainting of fibreglass models for shop window displays; portrait painting.

Plant Attendant/Plant Operator - enter the type of plant or equipment worked with, e.g.earth-moving plant; power station plant; mining plant.

Printer - obtain a full description of the tasks and duties performed and machinery used, e.g. setup and operated a letterpress printing machine; operated an offset lithographic printing press.

Process Worker - obtain a full description of the materials worked on, tasks and dutiesperformed and machinery (if any) that was used.

Production Associate - obtain a full description of the materials worked on, tasks and dutiesperformed and machinery (if any) that was used.

Proprietor/Owner - enter what type of business was owned (e.g. delicatessen; hardware store -retail) and what the person did.

Public Servant - obtain a full description of the tasks or duties performed and record the �class�or �grade�, e.g. Research Officer Grade 2 - policy research and formulation; Director (EL2) - humanresources and training.

Research Assistant/Research Officer - enter the field of research engaged in, e.g. physics;history; sociology and the main tasks and duties performed.

Sales Assistant/Shop Assistant - persons who work in shops or department stores tend todescribe themselves as �sales assistants� or �shop assistants�. These are general terms and it isnecessary to record the main tasks or duties performed, e.g. serving customers; check outoperator; shelf filler; making sandwiches. Where the person is selling goods or serving customers,it is also necessary to identify the type of goods being sold, e.g. selling automotive spare parts;serving customers in a takeaway bar.

Salesman/Saleswoman - ask whether the person concerned was a sales representative or ashop assistant, serving customers; and identify the type of goods being sold, e.g. SalesRepresentative selling pharmaceuticals; Avon Salesperson.

Supervisor - enter the tasks and duties performed by the staff that the person supervised.

Teacher - ask what type of students the person concerned taught, that is, pre-primary; primary;special needs; sight impaired; ESL; secondary; TAFE; University; private music teacher; balletinstructor.

Technician - enter the type of technical activity engaged in, e.g. civil engineering; mechanicalengineering; radio and TV telecommunications; office machinery.


Trades Assistant - record the trade occupation in which the person assisted.

Trainee - record in full the details of the occupation for which the person concerned wasbeing trained.

Q66 What kind of business or service is carried out by ..... employer at theplace where ..... works?

What kind of business or service is carried out by ..... business?

Aim

This question collects information about the kind of business or service carried out by theperson�s employer or business at the place where the person works.

Definitions

The Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZIC) is the standardclassification used in Australia and New Zealand for the collection, compilation andpublication of statistics by industry.

ANZIC provides a framework for grouping businesses which undertake similar economicactivities. The activities which characterise businesses are referred to as primary activities.Each individual business can be assigned to an appropriate industry category on the basis ofits predominant activities.

Comments

In most cases, businesses are engaged in a single activity and all persons employed by thebusiness are given the same industry code, regardless of their occupations within it.Examples are described below.

Building construction and repair - This industry includes all self-employed persons, and allemployees of a business, whose work is directly or indirectly in the field of constructionand repair of buildings. In a building company this will range from office personnel tocarpenters actually on the job. They are all part of the building industry.

Gas manufacture - All those concerned with the manufacture of gas; the manager, thefurnace man and the junior typist are classified to the gas manufacturing industry.

University education - Accountants and cleaners on a university payroll, as well asprofessors and lecturing staff, work in the university education industry.

Note that industry codes relate to the employing establishment. Thus a window cleaneremployed by a university works in the university education industry, but a window cleanerwho spends his time cleaning windows in a university but is employed by a firm of windowcleaning contractors is in the window cleaning industry.

Definition of industry is more complex for very large business concerns which have morethan one activity. An outstanding example is BHP Billiton, which, amongst other things,produces iron and steel, operates coal mines, prospects for and produces oil, and has a fleetof ships. Each of these activities is treated as a different industry. The industry recordedmust reflect the activity of the division for which the person concerned works.


Some government departments and authorities also operate in a number of different industries.The State Railways, for example:

operate train services;

construct lines, bridges, stations, etc.; and

have workshops for maintenance purposes.

People working in these different sections are classified to different industries. For example,railway workers with occupations such as train driver, guard, or conductor are generally allocatedto the operation of services, while the construction side includes fettlers, platelayers, etc. In theworkshops there will be mechanical engineers, fitters and turners, and others concerned withrepairing and overhauling.

If the person is employed by an employment agency, record the business or service carried out bythe employment agency. If, however, the person obtains work through an employment agency,but is paid by another employer, record the business or service carried out by the employer at theplace where the person works.

You should obtain as much detail as possible to enable precise coding of industry by the office.

Q67 What is the name of ..... employer?

What is the name of ..... business?

Aim

This question is designed to obtain information to help in coding the industry in which therespondent works. It is important that an accurate answer is obtained to this question because inmany cases the respondent�s description of the kind of industry worked in (Q66) is not sufficientlyprecise for accurate coding.

Comments

Include the trading name (where possible) or the registered business name (only if trading nameis not easily available).

The name recorded should be that of the person�s employer at the place where the person isemployed. Employees of contractors should be shown as working for the employing contractorrather than the place of work. For example, an office cleaner, employed by a cleaning contractorto clean the offices of an insurance company, should be shown as working for the cleaningcontractor.

If a person was employed by a State or Commonwealth government department, you should findout the name of the department and Section in which the person worked (e.g. ForestryCommission of NSW, Division of Wood Technology) in addition to recording the name.

If the respondent objects to answering this question (or Q90), explain the purpose of the question;if the respondent remains unwilling to supply the details, do not press for an answer. In thissituation enter the response as a refusal (�Ctrl R�).


Q68 Has ..... worked for ..... employer for 12 months or more?

Has ..... worked in ..... business for 12 months or more?

Q69 How many months has ..... worked for ..... employer?

How many months has ..... worked ..... business?

Q70 Does ..... expect to be working for ..... employer in 12 months time?

Does ..... expect to be working in ..... business in 12 months time?

Aim

The aim of this series of questions is to assist labour market analysts assess future trends inthe labour market. The questions establish whether the person is employed on a short-termor ongoing basis.

Comments

In questions 68 to 71 appropriate wording will be substituted for employees and those whoare working in their own business.

If the person has worked for twelve months exactly, enter Code 1.

If the person has had more than one period of employment with the same employer, onlythe most recent period of employment should be considered.

Comments on Q69

For those who have been working for their employer/business for less than twelvemonths, the number of months is collected.

If a person has worked for their employer/business for less than one month, record theamount as one month.

Comments on Q70

Enter Code 1 for persons who have no real reason to suspect they will not be workingfor the same employer/business in twelve months.

�Don�t know� can only be used if the person for whom information is being collected doesnot know the answer.

Use Code 5 for seasonal employees who expect to finish working for their currentemployer within the next 12 months, even if they expect to work for that employer againin future years.

If a qualified response is given, such as �Depends whether my contract is renewed� or�Depends whether my job is outsourced�, etc., mark Code 5.


Q71 What is the main reason ..... (expects to/may) finish work for ..... employerin the next 12 months?

What is the main reason ..... (expects to/may) finish work in ..... business inthe next 12 months?

Aim

The main purpose of this question is to identify why people leave their jobs, and particularly todetermine whether people leave their jobs on a voluntary or involuntary basis. Reasons for leavinga job involuntarily are generally associated with economic, rather than personal, circumstances.

Comments

For persons who definitely expect to, or think they may, finish working for their current employerwithin the next 12 months, record the main reason only.

If more than one reason is offered, probe for the main reason.

If the respondent is still unable to decide, code to the response category which is highest in thecoding frame.

Codes 1, 2, 3 and 6

These codes can be described as personal reasons for finishing work, whereas codes 4 and 5 arerelated to the conditions of employment and may not be due to personal choice.

Code 2 - Returning to study/Travel/Family reasons

Includes maternity reasons, paternity reasons and caring for family members, etc.

Code 4 - Seasonal/Temporary job/Fixed contract

Includes contract work or project work, and responses of �task completion� (where the work endsonce a task or project is completed, but there is no specific completion date).

�Fixed contract� includes situations where the person�s contract of employment specifies thatthe contract is for a finite period of time and gives a date at which the contract ends.Examples of people in this situation include consultants, who are contracted for short periods,and some teachers who have to renew their employment contract each year or semester.

Code 5 - Employer/business closing down/downsizing

Include responses of �redundant�, �retrenched�, or �downsized�.

Where a response indicates a person is unhappy with their work, or their job is unsatisfactory,it will be necessary to probe for reasons for this, and if it is due to:

general working conditions such as pay, hours, location, and they intend to look for otherwork, mark Code 1;

temporary or contract based work, mark Code 4; or

the business being for sale and the person is an employee of the business, mark Code 5.


If a person is in their own business, and the respondent states that the business is beingsold, it may be necessary to probe for reasons that they are selling the business and thencode responses accordingly, for example:

�want a change of employment�, enter Code 1;

�spend more time with the family�, enter Code 2; or

�retiring�, enter Code 3.

If codes don�t seem to cover the reason, enter Code 6.

Q73 At any time during the last 4 weeks has ..... been looking for full-timework? (See also Q22)

Aim

This question is asked of people who said that they had a job in the reference week but whofailed to satisfy LFS conditions to be classified as employed (i.e. people who worked only inunpaid voluntary work, contributing family workers who were away from work in thereference week, and people away from work for more than four weeks without pay). Thesepersons are sequenced through questions that determine whether they were unemployed ornot in the labour force in the reference week.

Comment

If the respondent asks which four weeks you are referring to, show him/her the calendar (ifinterviewing face-to-face) and explain that you mean the four weeks ending last Sunday (theend of reference week).

Q74 Has ..... been looking for part-time work at any time during the last 4weeks? (See Q23 and Q73)

Q75 At any time in the last 4 weeks has .....? (See Q64)

Aim Q75-Q84

Questions 75 to 84 establish whether the person satisfies the appropriate criteria forclassification as unemployed. To be classified as unemployed, a person must have:

actively looked for work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the referenceweek (tested in Q75) and been available for work in the reference week (tested in Q76);or

been waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference weekand able to start in the reference week if the job had been available then, that is, futurestarters (tested in Q76, Q77, Q78 or Q81, Q82 and Q83).

Comment

Procedures for asking Q75 are the same as for Q64, except that if one of the codes 01 to 07is marked, you will be sequenced to Q76. If one of the codes 08 to 10 is entered, you will besequenced to Q81B.


Q76 If ..... had found a job could ..... have started work last week?

If ..... had found a part-time job could ..... have started work last week?

Comments

�PART-TIME� should be read out if the person is only looking for part-time work (code �1� in Q74).

You may be told, in answer to this question, that the person has found a job. The person may, bynow (interview week), have started work in the job or may be waiting to start. In such cases markcode 2, �No� in Q76, and �waiting to start job� (code 1) in Q77.

Q77 What were the reasons ..... could not have started work last week?

Comments

Waiting to start a job covers cases where the person has found a job. The person may, by now(interview week), have started work in the job or may be waiting to start. �Other� covers all otherreasons.

Q78 Will ..... be starting that work in the next 4 weeks?

Aim

This question (in conjunction with Q77) helps to identify future starters who actively looked forwork in the last four weeks but could not start in the reference week because they were waiting tostart a job in the next four weeks, and which they expect to be starting within four weeks. Futurestarters are also identified through Q24 or Q81-Q84. People are sequenced to the appropriatequestions according to responses to preceding questions.

Comment

The four week period in Q78 is counted from the end of reference week.

Q79 Could ..... start work in the next 4 weeks if work was available?

Q81A (You told me that ..... didn�t look for work during the last 4 weeks.)

Was that because ..... was waiting to start (paid) work ..... had alreadyobtained?

Q81B Last week, was ..... waiting to start work ..... had already obtained?

Last week, was ..... waiting to start paid work ..... had already obtained?

Comments

Future starters in the labour force are identified by these questions by determining whether peoplewho did not have a job in survey week were waiting to start a new job or business that theyalready had obtained.

�paid� is substituted in the question if the respondent previously stated (in Q30 or Q49) that he/shewas an unpaid voluntary worker. Work incorporates both jobs and businesses, so anyone waitingto start a business should be coded to Code 1.


Q82 Will ..... be starting that work in the next 4 weeks? (See Q78)

Q83 Could ..... have started last week if that work had been available? (SeeQ76)

Aim

This question, in conjunction with Q81A, Q81B and Q82, is used to identify future starterswho reported that they had a job from which they were away in reference week, but whosubsequently failed job attachment tests in Q49, Q55, Q57 or Q59.

Comments

These people are not classified as employed, but are sequenced to questions that establishwhether they are unemployed or NILF.

See comments at Q78 identifying future starters.

Q84 Will that work be full-time?

Q85 When did ..... begin looking for work?

Comments

Depending on the response there are three levels of information which must be collected.

If the respondent indicates less than two years ago, enter the day, month and yearthe person began looking for work, i.e. DDMMYYYY.

If the respondent indicates between 2 years and less than 5 years ago, enter twospaces using the space bar and then the month and year the person began looking forwork, i.e. MMYYYY.

If the respondent indicates 5 years or more ago, enter 4 spaces using the space barand then enter the year the person began looking for work, i.e. YYYY only.

It is important that you make every effort to obtain an approximate date. However, if therespondent cannot provide the level of detail required, you may use a default number as alast resort. The following defaults may be used if and when more specific detail cannot beobtained.

For �DD� - if beginning of month, record as �05�

- if end of month, record as �25�

- if middle of month, or no approximation given, record as �15�

For �MM� - if close to a specific event or season (e.g. Easter, Melbourne Cup,

Winter, etc.), record as appropriate month

- if beginning of year, record as �02�

- if end of year, record as �10�

- if mid year or no approximation given, record as �06�.


If both a �DD� and �MM� are required and the respondent cannot give an approximate month, it isnot necessary to also probe for a �DD� as long as every effort has been made to obtain an �MM�.You should confirm that any approximation or estimate is reasonable with therespondent before it is recorded.

In some cases, e.g. �future starters�, the person may not have been looking for work. In theseenter Code �99� in Q85.

Q86 When did ..... last work for 2 weeks or more?

Comments

See comments at Q85 about recording responses.

The job referred to in this question is the last job or business the person had which lasted twoweeks or more, regardless of whether the person worked full-time or part-time. Note thefollowing.

Enter when the person finished that job.

Enter Code �99� when the person has never worked for two weeks or more, regardless of thehours worked each week.

Comments on Q88 to Q91

These questions are collected in quarter months only (Form S1).

Q88 What was ..... occupation in that job or business? (see Q65)

What were ..... main tasks and duties? (See Q65)

Q89 What kind of business or service was carried out by ..... employer orbusiness at the place where ..... worked? (See Q66)

Q90 What was the name of ..... employer or business? (See Q67)

Q91 What was the main reason ..... stopped working in ..... job or business?

Aim

This question is used to establish whether an unemployed person is a �job loser� or a �job leaver�.�Job leavers� are persons who left their last job voluntarily (i.e. codes 3, 5 and 7) and �job losers�are persons who left their last job involuntarily (i.e. codes 1, 2, 4 and 6).

Comments

Be careful not to suggest answers to this question as this can change the answer the respondentprovides. This is known as �leading the respondent�. If necessary use neutral probes such as �Canyou explain that a little more?� The question asks what is the main reason, but if given two ormore reasons ask �Which of these is the main reason?�

In most cases the appropriate category in which to record the main reason for leaving will beobvious from the respondent�s answer. However, note the following points.

If the respondent tells you the business was sold, you should probe further to find out firstly,whether it was the person�s own business, or their employer�s. If it was the employer�s


business, mark code 01. If it was his/her own business, probe further to find out whythe business was sold in order to differentiate between codes 4, 5, 6 and 7, i.e. whetherthe business was sold for economic (code 6) or personal reasons (codes 4, 5 and 7).

If a respondent gives �resigned� as a response, you should probe further to find out thereason the person resigned and then code the reason for resignation to one of thecategories provided.

In some cases, the last business that the person had was a farm. For farmers, we wishto establish why they ceased operating the farm.

Record as code 1 answers such as �lost job�, �stood down�, �boss couldn�t keep me on�,etc. This response code will cater for people who were employed, while self-employedwill be catered for in code 6.

Record as code 2 if job was temporary or seasonal and came to an end etc.

�Unsatisfactory work arrangements/pay/hours� (code 3) includes answers such as �hourstoo long�, �hours too short�, �difficulty with transport�, �too far from home�, �insufficient pay�etc.

�Own ill health or injury� (code 4) does not include pregnancy. If the person gave upher business because she was pregnant, enter code 7. Code 4 refers solely to illness orinjury of the person him/herself. If the illness or injury of another family member causedthe person to leave the job or give up the business, enter code 7.

For �Holiday job/Returned to studies� use code 5. This code is used when a person iseither returning to studies or commencing studies. It may be that a person had to moveelsewhere to study and as a consequence had to stop working in their job or business.

Record as code 6 answers such as �bankrupt�, �debts too great�, �couldn�t keep up therepayments�, �couldn�t get the materials/parts/components�, �export market slumped�,�nobody wanted to buy the goods/products� etc.

Answers such as �pregnant�, �to start a family�, �have children� should be recorded as code7; as should �travel�, �go overseas� etc. In a few cases, people may have retired fromtheir last job and now are looking for some post-retirement employment. If the reasonfor leaving is given as �retired� or �retirement�, record as code 7. People who answer�moved house� are also recorded as code 7.

Q92 Did ..... usually work 35 hours or more a week in ..... job or business?

This question determines whether a person was previously working full-time or part-time. Ifit was part-time then Q93 is asked to establish when, if ever, the respondent workedfull-time for more than two weeks.

Q93 When did ..... last work for at least 2 weeks in a job of 35 hours ormore a week?

Comments

See comments at Q85 about recording responses.


The job referred to in this question is the last full-time job or business (i.e. one where 35 hoursor more were worked each week) the person had which lasted two weeks or more. Note thefollowing.

We wish to know when the person finished that job.

Enter �99� when the person has never worked in a job of 35 hours or more per week (i.e.full-time) for two weeks or more.

Note that the date given at this question should logically be before the date given at Q86. If thisis not the case (e.g. the same default dates are required for both Q86 and Q93), you should askthe respondent for a reasonable estimate of the time that the person last worked full-time in lightof the date recorded in Q86. Again, any default date should be confirmed with the respondent asbeing reasonable.


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