Women in Australia
2004
Women in Australia
2004
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), publishes a wealth of information on labour force topics on a monthly or yearly basis and some publications are published more "irregularly" every few years.
In providing labour force analysis, this chapter has chosen a data "snapshot" from August 2002 (or close to that date).
The August 2002 date has been selected as:
The month of August is the most steady month in which to analyse labour force data as it is the least likely to be subject to economic fluctuations which have the potential to impact upon the data.
The year 2002 has been selected as many of the publications selected as appropriate for analysis for this chapter (including some of the "irregular" supplementary survey publications) were released around this time.
Women's increased labour force participation has been a major change which has occurred in the paid workforce over the last few decades.
As research from the Office of the Status of Women (OSW) outlines:
During the post World War II era, the labour force participation rate for working age women was relatively low - 29% at the Census of 1954. This proportion was only marginally higher than the rates recorded at the 1911 and 1933 Censuses, 26% and 27% respectively.
However, in the mid-sixties, women's labour force participation had risen to 41% ... this proportion increased steadily over the following decades. At the turn of the [21st] century, around two thirds of Australian women aged 15 to 64 years were in the labour force.1
Similarly, the proportion of the labour force who were female increased from 20% in 1911, 22% in 1933 and 23% in 1954 to 44% in 2002.2
The OSW research notes that there are a range of economic and social factors underlying this data which have affected and will continue to affect women's life patterns and choices. These include:
A major factor which directly led to increased female participation in the labour market was the removal of the "Marriage Bar" in 1966.
In the publication, Removal of the Commonwealth Marriage Bar: A documentary history, Sawer describes the impact of the Marriage Bar upon women as follows:
Until 1966 Section 49(2) of the Commonwealth Public Service Act read: 'Every female officer shall be deemed to have retired from the Commonwealth service upon her marriage...' Australia was one of the last countries in the world to lift this ban - even the United Kingdom had got rid of it in 1946. It should be noted that although the term 'marriage bar' appears gender-neutral it never applied to men, who suffered no employment penalty for entering a married state. Indeed, for men, marriage was sometimes encouraged; it was seen as making them more stable employees4
Occasionally, the Marriage Bar was not applied in some interesting exceptions.
Sawer notes that:
Typists, as they did work regarded as unsuitable for men, were allowed to come back after marriage as temporary staff members. Only permanent officers could occupy supervisory positions, however, meaning that the possibilities for married women were extremely limited5
The Marriage Bar also affected State and Local Government, therefore professions such as teaching, which comes under State Government jurisdiction and which has always had a very high female representation were "off limits" to women upon their marriage.
In August 2002, 66 per cent of women aged 15-64 years were in the labour force (that is, were either employed or unemployed and looking for work). Approximately 45 per cent of women in the labour force were full-time employees while 39 per cent of women were part-time employees. In comparison, 66 per cent of men in the labour force worked full-time, while only 11 per cent worked part-time. Women's increased work force participation has been just one of the changes which have occurred in the paid workforce over the last few decades. As well as compositional changes in the labour force, employment types continue to evolve in line with social and economic changes.
The notion of what constitutes a standard full-time working week has required continual re-examination for the last 40 years as during this period there have been many structural changes in the labour market. For example, there has been a progressive decline in what have been considered traditional or standard hours of work which has been accompanied by a substantial growth in the number of people employed under part-time working arrangements.6
As there is no internationally accepted definition of part-time work, two approaches have been used in various countries. The first is purely based on the number of hours worked. The second is more subjective and involves classifying workers as full-time or part-time based on the self-assessment of the worker concerned irrespective of the hours actually worked.7
The approach used in the ABS Labour Force Survey is to define full-time and part-time status in terms of hours worked as noted below.8
Full-time workers are persons who usually work 35 hours or more per week in all jobs. Part-time workers are those who usually work less than 35 hours per week.9
In February 2001 while more than half of males aged 15-69 worked full-time all year (53 per cent) just over one quarter of females in the same age group did so (28 per cent).
In February 2001 women were much more likely to have worked part-time all year at 13 per cent. By comparison, only four per cent of men had worked part-time all year.
When employees without leave entitlements are examined for the period of August 2002, it is notable that women in the labour force are much more likely to be employed part-time, without leave entitlements (22 per cent of all female employees), than male employees (nine per cent).
Both women and men work part-time hours for a combination of different reasons - work, family and childcare or personal reasons. Many more women nominated childcare reasons, that is 'prefer to look after child(ren)' as to why they worked part-time hours (18 per cent of women in a couple family, compared to only one per cent of men). However, 12 per cent of women and 29 per cent of men in a couple family said their main reason for working part-time was that there was 'not enough work or no other jobs available'.
In August 2002 women in families with an employed partner were much more likely to be employed full-time or part-time than lone female parents. The likelihood for women to be employed increased as their children aged. For instance, 36 per cent of women in couple families, with an employed male partner and where the youngest child was aged 10-14, were employed full-time and 44 per cent were employed part-time. In contrast, women in couple families who had an employed partner, but a youngest child aged 0-4 were less likely to work either full-time or part-time at 15 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively.
Of women who headed sole parent families, 27 per cent were in full-time and 29 per cent were in part-time employment by the time the youngest child reached the ages of ten to 14. However, of lone mothers with a youngest child aged 0-4, only nine per cent were in full-time and 21 per cent were in part-time employment.
Work related reasons were cited as the main reasons for using formal and informal child care in June 2002 (at 48 per cent and 46 per cent respectively). Between March 1996 and June 2002, the propensity to use formal care increased from 20 per cent to 25 per cent for all children. The most commonly used types of formal care were long day care centres and preschools followed by before and after school care programs. For those who relied on informal care, a grandparent was most likely to provide this, followed by a person other than a relative.
Employers and workplaces are increasingly acknowledging the need to balance work and family responsibilities. In recent times a range of provisions have been introduced which assist families to do this. The provisions include flexible working hours, permanent part-time work, home-based work and job sharing.10
In 1999, in an article on casual employment, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) noted the following:
Casual workers are often thought of as those employees who are not entitled to paid holiday or sick leave, who have no expectation of ongoing employment and for whom each engagement with their employer constitutes a separate contract of employment. They usually receive a higher rate of pay to compensate for a lack of job security and paid leave.11
By 2000, this definition had loosened largely as a result of investigations undertaken for the initial Forms of Employment Survey (FOES) (conducted in 1998). In attempting to chart the changing nature of the Australian workplace, the ABS surveys Employment Arrangements and Superannuation (SEAS) and FOES allowed survey respondents to self-identify as casuals if they were entitled to either paid holiday or paid sick leave but not both. The possibility of a greater income to offset a lack of entitlements was not factored into the definitions.12
Formerly, entitlement to paid holiday leave and paid sick leave has been used in ABS surveys to distinguish between permanent and casual employees. Changes made to the leave entitlements of casuals from the late 1990s, where casuals are increasingly entitled to various forms of paid leave, have meant that the classification of permanent and casual employees based solely on paid leave entitlements is no longer appropriate. Casual status when used in ABS household surveys is now based on a person's perception of themselves as a casual employee, along with entitlement to paid sick leave, or paid holiday leave, but not both.
Thus the present ABS definition for casual employees is as follows:
Employees (excluding Owner managers of incorporated enterprises) who were entitled to either paid sick leave or paid holiday leave (but not both), or were entitled to neither paid sick leave nor paid holiday leave; and identified themselves as casual.13
Casual employees do not necessarily have only short-term employment relationships with their employers.14 The SEAS found that 14 per cent of casuals had been in the same job for five years or more, while almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of self-identified casuals expected to be in the same job in 12 months time.15 The FOES found that five per cent of self-identified casuals had been with the same business or employer for more than ten years.16 Since the late 1970s, casual employment has continued to grow.17 By November 2001, casual employment (as self-identified by employees) had grown to account for 20 per cent of all jobs.18 The majority of casual positions are filled by women, and casual employment is the only employment type out of five identified employment types where women are in the majority. When asked to identify their employee status, 27 per cent of women and 15 per cent of men, self identified as "casual employees" in November 2001.19
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2002, Forms of Employment, 2001, (Cat. No. 6359.0), Canberra.
According to the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research:
Superannuation has become much more important to Australians over the last decade since the implementation of compulsory superannuation contributions through the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) under which nearly all full-time employees and most part-time employees now have nine per cent of wage or salary contributions to a superannuation fund.
In addition, many employees are employed under awards that require contributions of three per cent of wage and salary to be paid to a superannuation fund specified in that award ... As a result of these measures, superannuation balances have become a major item of household wealth particularly for persons aged over 45 years.20
While some casuals now receive leave entitlements, many are precluded from employer funded superannuation schemes. Employers are obliged to make contributions on behalf of most employees, but there are some exempt employees: for example, employers are not obliged to contribute to superannuation for employees aged less than 18 years who are working not more than 30 hours a week, or for employees with low earnings.21 Many of these exempt employees are likely to be young self-identified casuals.
(Please see Economic Resources chapter for more on Superannuation).
Although an increasing proportion of women are in the paid work force, gender separation by occupation still typifies much of the Australian labour force. In August 2002, the leading occupation groups for women were Clerical, sales and service workers (51 per cent including Advanced, Intermediate and Elementary levels of these occupations) and Professionals 22 per cent). The leading occupational groups for men were as Tradespersons and related workers (20 per cent) and Professionals (17 per cent).22
Within broad occupation groups such as professionals, where women and men have more equal representation, there can be differences in the type of professions women and men enter, and gendered separation within these professions. women predominate in the industries of Health and community services (77 per cent) and education (69 per cent).23
There are marked differences in the occupational profiles of women and men. Women are over-represented in clerical, sales and service occupations (89 per cent of the advanced workforce), and under-represented as tradespersons and related workers (10 per cent of this workforce). Women make up just over a quarter of Managers and administrators.24
"The first trip was rather traumatic, because it was public news and no matter where I went people were talking and saying 'there's a woman driving a tram!' The hardest thing was to drive that tram properly and not make any mistakes, because the first people were very, very critical, but it was very pleasing to have the comments come through the press that it was a pleasure to be sitting behind a woman driver. This made the 19 and a half years' fight really worthwhile".25
Although women tram drivers have now gained community acceptance, old attitudes and stereotypes of what constitute 'appropriate' work for women can still be hard to change.
A report commissioned in 1997 by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and the Westpac bank into the Australian Finance Industry found that traditional beliefs about male and female attributes held sway in many quarters. In discussing women's aspirations to upper management many men acknowledged that:
"... women faced considerable resistance in being appointed to senior positions. They explained that a general perception prevailed that women could not cope with the position".26
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2002, Labour Force: August 2002, (Cat. No. 6203.0) Canberra.
Compared to other OECD countries Australia has one of the more highly segregated labour forces, and this has not changed much over the last 20 years. Segregation by type of job and level (in terms of managerial responsibility) has implications for women relating to level of earnings, employment opportunity and, more broadly, for their access to decision-making positions.27
However, some women are making their way into traditionally male occupations and industries.
After the ... terrorist bombing in Bali ... many Australians were flown back to Australian hospitals for medical attention. Many victims suffered terrible burns and needed extensive surgery. Fortunately in Western Australia (where many Bali victims come from) a local bio-medical company, Clinical Cell Culture (3C) ... was able to assist with skin burns using Cellspray, which provides skin grafts, dramatically quickening healing time.
Marie Stoner, a leading Western Australian research scientist who is now a leading bio-medical exporter, heads 3C. Ms Stoner, whose background is in haemotolgy, developed 3C out of the skin culture unit ...with Fiona Wood a plastic surgeon and burn specialist. 3C is progressively building its international profile and now exports to hospitals in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
Marie Stoner is one of many Australian women who are becoming important exporters. They come from all over Australia - from capital cities and regional areas - and from across a range of industries - both 'old' economy and new.28
Work outside, or in addition to, ordinary or standard working hours, whether paid or unpaid. Data on overtime relate to employees in their main job.29
A substantial proportion of Australian workers regularly undertakes either paid or unpaid overtime.30 However, the prevalence of unpaid overtime varies across industry and occupation groups. One occupation group which has a high number of women employees and within which unpaid overtime is common is that of Advanced Clerical and Service Workers. This occupation group which includes secretaries and personal assistants, bookkeepers and travel attendants was distinguished by 44 per cent of full-time employees not receiving paid overtime in 2000.31
While more men work overtime hours (44 per cent compared to 36 per cent for women), they are also more likely to be paid for these hours. In November 2000, 44 per cent of women who regularly worked overtime in their main job reported that they were not paid for this overtime. The corresponding figure for men was 28 per cent.32
The highest rates of unpaid overtime (and overtime in general) are found in Education. In 2000, 62 per cent of full-time employees in the education industry worked overtime on a regular basis. Two-thirds of these employees had not been paid for their most recent period of overtime.33
In 2000, women who worked regular overtime formed 36 per cent of the full-time female labour force. Of women who worked part-time, 66 per cent reported that they regularly worked one to four hours overtime per week, while a further 23 per cent usually worked five to nine hours overtime per week in their main job.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001, Working Arrangements, Australia 2000, unpublished data, (Cat. No. 6342.0), Canberra.
The main reason both full-time and part-time female employees worked overtime was that it was required to get the job done, at 76 and 69 per cent respectively. A secondary concern for 16 per cent of full-time and 15 per cent of part-time women who work was that overtime was an expected part of the job. Those men who worked overtime did so for the same reasons as women. Around 70 per cent of male full-time and part-time employees stated that overtime was required in order to get the job done. For men as well as women, a secondary reason what that overtime was seen as an expected part of the job (at 18 per cent for full-time and 15 per cent for part time male employees).
In August 1992, ten per cent of women in the labour force were unemployed. By August 2002, the unemployment rate had dropped to six per cent. In this time, the number of women considered long-term unemployed had also dropped from 29 to 19 per cent of the total of female unemployed.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2003, Employee Earnings and Benefits and Trade Union Membership, 2002, Cat. No. 6310.0), Canberra.
Persons unemployed for a period of 52 weeks or more.
The unemployment rate for men almost halved between August 1992 and August 2002 from two per cent to six per cent. In 1992 a large proportion of unemployed men were long-term unemployed at 38 per cent. By August 2002, this figure had reduced to 27 per cent.
Among unemployed people, an increasing proportion are looking for part-time work. In 1992, 29 per cent of unemployed women stated they were looking for part-time work. By 2002, that number had jumped to 36 per cent.
This choice for part-time work which has increased over the last decade, could reflect a greater awareness of some of the pressures which can be incurred when trying to balance work, family and personal lifestyle choices. Interestingly unemployed women are not alone in an observed increasing preference for part-time work. The same increasing preference can be noted for unemployed men where the proportion jumps from eight to 19 per cent.
In June 2002, one third of women aged 15-64 were not in the labour force (as a proportion of the civilian population). Of these women, 57 per cent responded that they were 'engaged in home duties or childcare', and 17 per cent gave the response that they were 'attending an education institution'. In contrast, of the 17 per cent of men not in the labour force, 36 per cent said they were 'attending an educational institution' and eight per cent gave the response that they were involved in 'home and child care duties'. Men not in the labour force were much more likely to cite illness or disability as a reason at 29 per cent in comparison with women (eight per cent).
1 Office of the Status of Women, 2004, unpublished research.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Removal of the Commonwealth Marriage Bar: A documentary history, Centre for Research in Public Sector Management, University of Canberra, 1997, ed. Sawer, M.
5 Ibid.
6 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001, Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods, (Cat. No. 6102.0), Canberra.
7 Ibid.
8 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002, Labour Force, Australia, August 2002, (Cat. No. 6203.0), Canberra.
9 Ibid.
10 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2002, Child Care, 2002, (Cat. No. 4402.0), Canberra.
11 Australian Bureau of Statistics 1999, Labour Force: July 1999, (Cat. No. 6203.0), Canberra.
12 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2002, Forms of Employment, 2001, (Cat. No. 6359.0), Canberra. Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001, Employee Arrangements and Superannuation, 2001 (Cat. No. 6361.0), Canberra.
13 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2002, Forms of Employment, 2001, (Cat. No. 6359.0), Canberra.
14 Australian Bureau of Statistics 1999, Labour Force: July 1999, (Cat. No. 6203.0), Canberra.
15 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001, Employee Arrangements and Superannuation, 2001 (Cat. No 6361.0), Canberra.
16 Australian Bureau of Statistics, above n 13.
17 Human Rights Australia 1992, Just Rewards: A Report of the Inquiry Into Sex Discrimination in Overaward Payments, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
18 Australian Bureau of Statistics, above n 13.
19 Ibid.
20 Stanford, J. 2003, Is Superannuation Safe? The Background and the Issues, The Australian Economic Review, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp78-79 from Policy Forum: Is Superannuation Safe?, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, the University of Melbourne, Blackwell Publsihing Asia Pty Ltd.
21 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001, above n 15.
22 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002, Labour Force, Australia, 2002, (Cat. No. 6203.0), Canberra.
23 Ibid.
24 Ibid.
25 McMurchy, M., Oliver, M. and Thornley, J. 1983, For Love or Money: A Pictorial History of Women and Work in Australia, Penguin Books, Victoria. Joyce Barry, interview, 1981.
26 Still, L. 1997, Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors: Barriers to the Careers of Women in the Australian Finance Industry, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, viewed 19 February 2004, http://www.hreoc.gov.au/sex_discrimination/workplace/glass_ceilngs.html
27 Australian Bureau of Statistics 1998, Australian Social Trends 1998, (Cat. No. 4102.0), Canberra.
28 Office of the Status of Women 2003, Women in Trade, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Canberra.
29 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2003, Australian Social Trends 2003, (Cat. No. 4102.0), Canberra.
30 Ibid.
31 Ibid.
32 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001, Women More Likely to Work Unpaid Overtime, media release, (Cat. No. 6342.0), Canberra, 24 August 2001.
33 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2003, above n 29.
| August 1992 | August 2002 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Units | Women | Men | Women | Men | |
| Total population aged 15-64 | '000 | 5775.1 | 5841.9 | 6573.8 | 6642.4 |
| In the labour force | '000 | 3547.1 | 4862.8 | 4342.9 | 5421.4 |
| Employed | '000 | 3207.8 | 4305.8 | 4088.1 | 5081.4 |
| Unemployed | '000 | 339.3 | 557.0 | 254.8 | 340.0 |
| Not in the labour force | '000 | 2228.0 | 979.1 | 2230.9 | 1220.9 |
| Participation rate | % | 61.4 | 83.2 | 66.1 | 81.6 |
| Unemployment rate | % | 9.6 | 11.5 | 5.9 | 6.3 |
| Female proportion of total labour force | % | 42.2 | .. | 44.5 | .. |
| EMPLOYED PERSONS | |||||
| Full-time workers | % | 56.9 | 90.0 | 54.7 | 85.4 |
| Part-time workers | % | 43.1 | 10.0 | 45.3 | 14.6 |
| Prefer more hours | % | 9.8 | 4.5 | 10.0 | 5.2 |
| Status in employment | |||||
| Employee | % | 87.1 | 81.6 | 89.7 | 83.7 |
| Employer | % | 3.5 | 5.1 | 2.6 | 3.8 |
| Own-account worker | % | 8.0 | 12.7 | 7.2 | 12.3 |
| Contributing family worker | % | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| EMPLOYEES(a) | |||||
| With leave entitlements | % | 69.2 | 84.7 | 68.5 | 76.8 |
| Without leave entitlements | % | 30.8 | 15.3 | 31.5 | 23.2 |
| Sector | |||||
| Private sector(b) | % | 71.6 | 73.7 | 77.2 | 84.3 |
| Public sector | % | 28.4 | 26.3 | 22.9 | 15.7 |
| UNEMPLOYED PERSONS | |||||
| Looking for full-time work | % | 71.5 | 92.3 | 64.6 | 81.1 |
| Looking for part-time work | % | 28.4 | 7.7 | 35.4 | 18.9 |
| Long-term unemployed(c) | % | 29.4 | 37.6 | 19.0 | 26.6 |
| NOT IN THE LABOUR FORCE(d) | |||||
| Marginally attatched(e) | % | 27.3 | 25.1 | 25.5 | 22.8 |
| Discouraged job-seekers | % | 4.7 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
| Child care reasons | % | 10.6 | *0.4 | 7.7 | 0.9 |
(a) Employees in main job.
(b) Private sector includes sector could not be determined.
(c) Unemployed for 52 weeks or more.
(d) September figures.
(e) Persons not in the labour force but who were actively looking for work but not available to start immediately; or wanted to work but not actively looking and available to start within four weeks, or could start work in this time if childcare were available.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Australia, Detailed - Electronic delivery, Monthly (Cat. no. 6291.0.55.001); Employee Earnings, Benefits and Trade Union Membership, August 2002, unpublished data; Weekly Earnings of Employees (Distribution) Australia, August 1992, unpublished data; Persons Not in the Labour Force, September 1992 and 2002, unpublished data.
| Age group (years) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | ||||||||
| Units | 15-19 | 20-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 15-64 | |
| WOMEN | ||||||||
| Total women in the labour force | '000 | 382.9 | 527.4 | 1030.7 | 1055.9 | 978.4 | 367.5 | 4342.9 |
| Labour force participation rate | % | 57.3 | 76.5 | 70.7 | 71.4 | 73.5 | 38.8 | 66.1 |
| Married(a) | % | 71.9 | 70.2 | 68.0 | 71.4 | 74.2 | 38.3 | 65.5 |
| Not married(b) | % | 56.8 | 79.2 | 75.7 | 71.6 | 71.1 | 40.0 | 66.9 |
| Full-time employees(c) | % | 18.0 | 52.6 | 56.6 | 41.1 | 44.9 | 40.1 | 44.9 |
| With leave entitlements(c) | % | 13.8 | 46.2 | 51.5 | 36.4 | 40.1 | 36.8 | 40.0 |
| Without leave entitlements(c) | % | 4.2 | 6.4 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 3.3 | 4.9 |
| Part-time employees(c) | % | 64.6 | 34.6 | 28.8 | 41.8 | 37.7 | 40.5 | 38.8 |
| With leave entitlements(c) | % | 7.3 | 9.7 | 13.8 | 23.3 | 21.4 | 21.2 | 17.4 |
| Without leave entitlements(c) | % | 57.3 | 24.9 | 15.0 | 18.5 | 16.3 | 19.3 | 21.5 |
| More than one employer | ||||||||
| in previous year(d) | % | 28.1 | 32.3 | 23.8 | 20.0 | 17.7 | 12.4 | 21.9 |
| Unemployment rate | % | 14.5 | 9.4 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 3.5 | 1.8 | 5.9 |
| Main difficulty finding work(e) | ||||||||
| State of the job market(f) | % | 33.3 | *22.3 | 25.1 | 29.1 | *25.0 | **17.6 | 27.0 |
| Employers consider too | ||||||||
| young/old | % | *5.1 | *10.2 | *7.6 | 14.4 | 32.3 | *44.3 | 13.7 |
| Lacked experience/skills/ | ||||||||
| education | % | 27.7 | 31.8 | 23.7 | *16.1 | *19.9 | *11.7 | 23.3 |
| MEN | ||||||||
| Total men in the labour force | '000 | 389.7 | 598.2 | 1334.9 | 1329.8 | 1175.4 | 593.4 | 5421.4 |
| Labour force participation rate | % | 55.8 | 84.0 | 91.5 | 90.7 | 87.9 | 61.1 | 81.6 |
| Married(a) | % | 90.6 | 92.3 | 95.1 | 93.6 | 91.1 | 64.1 | 87.3 |
| Not married(b) | % | 55.5 | 82.2 | 86.9 | 81.9 | 75.8 | 49.5 | 73.5 |
| Full-time employees(c) | % | 31.7 | 59.8 | 73.3 | 71.9 | 69.4 | 59.1 | 66.1 |
| With leave entitlements(c) | % | 25.6 | 50.4 | 63.7 | 62.4 | 59.3 | 48.9 | 56.6 |
| Without leave entitlements(c) | % | 6.1 | 9.4 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 10.2 | 9.5 |
| Part-time employees(c) | % | 47.3 | 22.5 | 7.7 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 10.8 | 11.7 |
| With leave entitlements(c) | % | 5.9 | 5.2 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 3.1 |
| Without leave entitlements(c) | % | 41.4 | 17.2 | 5.2 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 7.0 | 8.6 |
| More than one employer | ||||||||
| in previous year(d) | % | 26.1 | 30.5 | 25.0 | 17.9 | 14.9 | 11.8 | 20.3 |
| Unemployment rate | % | 16.8 | 11.0 | 6.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 6.3 |
| Main difficulty finding work(e) | ||||||||
| State of the job market(f) | % | 29.8 | 31.9 | 38.8 | 39.4 | 35.1 | **17.5 | 33.4 |
| Employers consider too | ||||||||
| young/old | % | *8.0 | **0.5 | *1.6 | *7.3 | 28.7 | 63.4 | 13 |
| Lacked experience/skills/ | ||||||||
| education | % | 28.3 | 28.7 | 24.7 | 19.6 | 5.8 | *4.3 | 20.8 |
(a) Includes people who living with another person of the same or opposite sex in either a registered or de facto marriage.
(b) Includes people who live alone or with other family members, in shared accomodation, and persons who, although reported as married, did not have a spouse or partner who usually lived in the household.
(c) Leave entitlements are collected from employees only, but figures relate to proportion of men and women in the labour force. In addition, the persons living in remote and sparsely settled parts of Australia are excluded from the numerator but are included in denominator.
(d) People who had worked at some time during the previous year and who had changed their employer within the 12 months to February 2002. As a proportion of people who worked at some time during 12 months.
(e) Reported by unemployed people who are actively looking for work as at July 2002. As a proportion of total unemployed persons at that time.
(f) Includes too many applicants; no vacancies in line of work; or no vacancies at all.
*Estimates of the relative standard error between 25% and 50%.
**Estimates of the relative standard error greater than 50%.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Employee Earnings, Benefits and Trade Union Membership, August 2002, unpublished data; Labour Force Australia, Detailed - Electronic delivery, Monthly (Cat. no. 6291.0.55.001); Labour Mobility, 2002, unpublished data; Job Search Experience, July 2002, unpublished data.
| Age group (years) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | ||||||||
| Units | 15-19 | 20-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 15-64 | |
| WOMEN | ||||||||
| Women not in the labour force(b) | '000 | 258.8 | 153.0 | 403.0 | 399.6 | 340.0 | 571.5 | 2125.9 |
| Proportion of civilian population | % | 39.5 | 22.3 | 27.9 | 27.3 | 25.6 | 60.8 | 32.6 |
| Had a job | % | 23.1 | 66.3 | 88.7 | 92.4 | 92.9 | 95.2 | 82.2 |
| Had never had a job | % | 76.9 | 33.7 | 11.3 | 7.6 | 7.1 | 4.8 | 17.8 |
| Time since last job | ||||||||
| Under 12 months | % | 14.1 | 28.3 | 24.0 | 14.3 | 12.2 | 7.0 | 14.8 |
| 1 and under 3 years | % | 8.2 | 25.0 | 24.4 | 17.6 | 13.1 | 11.3 | 15.9 |
| 3 and under 10 years | % | 0.8 | 13.1 | 33.4 | 34.5 | 26.8 | 26.9 | 25.4 |
| 10 years or more | % | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 26.0 | 40.8 | 50.1 | 26.2 |
| Main activity while not in labour force | ||||||||
| Home duties/child care | % | 4.3 | 47.0 | 83.0 | 83.1 | 63.0 | 43.3 | 57.0 |
| Attending an educational | ||||||||
| institution | % | 93.1 | 41.4 | 7.5 | 5.2 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 17.4 |
| Retired/voluntarily inactive | % | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 8.2 | 32.2 | 10.3 |
| Disability/illness(c) | % | 1.4 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 6.2 | 15.7 | 9.8 | 7.8 |
| Other | % | 1.1 | 6.5 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 9.9 | 13.9 | 7.5 |
| Intended to enter the labour | ||||||||
| force in the next year | % | 40.7 | 44.8 | 32.5 | 27.2 | 16.4 | 3.6 | 23.0 |
| MEN | ||||||||
| Men not in the labour force(b) | '000 | 283.5 | 93.8 | 115.9 | 121.2 | 154.2 | 353.5 | 1122.1 |
| Proportion of civilian population | % | 41.3 | 13.3 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 11.6 | 36.8 | 17.1 |
| Had a job | % | 17.7 | 51.6 | 83.4 | 94.9 | 96.7 | 99.0 | 72.1 |
| Had never had a job | % | 82.3 | 48.4 | 16.6 | 5.1 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 27.9 |
| Time since last job | ||||||||
| Under 12 months | % | 12.2 | 27.0 | 34.0 | 24.6 | 16.7 | 11.5 | 17.4 |
| 1 and under 3 years | % | 5.3 | 17.6 | 29.7 | 23.2 | 21.4 | 20.7 | 17.8 |
| 3 and under 10 years | % | 0.3 | 7.1 | 16.0 | 34.0 | 33.1 | 43.5 | 24.2 |
| 10 years or more | % | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.8 | 13.2 | 25.5 | 23.2 | 12.6 |
| Main activity while not in labour force | ||||||||
| Home duties/child care | % | 0.1 | 1.1 | 11.8 | 23.1 | 9.9 | 7.6 | 7.6 |
| Attending an educational | ||||||||
| institution | % | 93.7 | 79.0 | 38.8 | 9.1 | 2.9 | 0.1 | 35.7 |
| Retired/voluntarily inactive | % | 0.7 | 1.4 | 3.6 | 6.2 | 16.5 | 44.8 | 17.7 |
| Disability/illness(c) | % | 2.9 | 11.3 | 30.3 | 47.6 | 54.1 | 35.2 | 28.5 |
| Other | % | 2.6 | 7.3 | 15.5 | 14.0 | 16.5 | 12.4 | 10.6 |
| Intended to enter the labour | ||||||||
| force in the next year | % | 41.8 | 48.4 | 44.8 | 32.7 | 23.1 | 7.0 | 28.1 |
(a) People who were neither employed nor unemployed.
(b) Includes a small number of people not in the labour force for whom time since last job, main activity and job search intentions are not known.
(c) Includes: own disability/handicap; own illness/injury; and looking after ill/disabled person.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Persons Not in the Labour Force Australia, September 2002 (Cat. no. 6220.0).
| Female labour force status(a) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employed | Unemployed | Not in | Total | Labour | ||
| the labour | families | force | ||||
| force | participation | |||||
| rate | ||||||
| Full-time | Part-time | |||||
| Family type | % | % | % | % | '000 | % |
| Couple families with child(ren) aged | ||||||
| under 15 years | 22.5 | 38.0 | 2.7 | 36.8 | 1704.7 | 63.2 |
| Male partner employed | 23.4 | 40.5 | 2.3 | 33.8 | 1524.1 | 66.2 |
| Age of youngest child | ||||||
| 0-4 years | 15.2 | 36.3 | 2.1 | 46.4 | 724.0 | 53.6 |
| 5-9 years | 26.8 | 44.4 | 3.0 | 25.7 | 427.0 | 74.3 |
| 10-14 years | 35.5 | 44.1 | 1.8 | 18.6 | 373.1 | 81.4 |
| Male partner unemployed | 12.2 | 17.7 | 13.3 | 56.9 | 59.9 | 43.1 |
| Male partner not in the labour force | 16.7 | 16.2 | 3.1 | 64.0 | 120.8 | 36.0 |
| One parent family with female parent | ||||||
| and child(ren) aged under 15 years | 16.8 | 27.2 | 8.9 | 47.0 | 449.3 | 53.0 |
| Age of youngest child | ||||||
| 0-4 years | 9.2 | 20.8 | 9.4 | 60.7 | 164.2 | 39.3 |
| 5-9 years | 16.1 | 32.7 | 8.3 | 42.9 | 152.8 | 57.1 |
| 10-14 years | 27.2 | 28.9 | 9.0 | 34.9 | 132.2 | 65.1 |
(a) Includes younger partners in male same sex couples and excludes older partners in female same sex couples.
Source: Labour Force Survey June 2002, unpublished.
| March 1996 | June 1999 | June 2002 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of child care used | '000 | % | '000 | % | '000 | % |
| By children aged 0-4 years | ||||||
| Formal care only | 276.8 | 21.4 | 288.5 | 22.6 | 343.0 | 27.6 |
| Informal care only | 321.4 | 24.9 | 327.9 | 25.7 | 246.6 | 19.9 |
| Formal and informal care | 196.5 | 15.2 | 221.1 | 17.3 | 209.4 | 16.9 |
| No care used | 497.7 | 38.5 | 436.8 | 34.3 | 443.2 | 35.7 |
| Total children | 1292.4 | 100.0 | 1274.2 | 100.0 | 1242.2 | 100.0 |
| By children aged 5-11 years | ||||||
| Formal care only | 96.7 | 5.3 | 148.6 | 8.0 | 148.3 | 8.0 |
| Informal care only | 556.1 | 30.7 | 538.2 | 29.1 | 476.5 | 25.6 |
| Formal and informal care | 54.4 | 3.0 | 74.9 | 4.1 | 86.7 | 4.7 |
| No care used | 1103.3 | 60.9 | 1086.9 | 58.8 | 1146.3 | 61.7 |
| Total children | 1810.5 | 100.0 | 1848.7 | 100.0 | 1857.8 | 100.0 |
(a) In reference week.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Child Care, Australia, June 2002 (Cat. no. 4402.0).
| Beneficial | ||||||
| Work-related | Personal | for child | Other(b) | Total | Total | |
| Type of child care | % | % | % | % | % | '000 |
| Formal care | ||||||
| Before and/or after school | ||||||
| care program | 83.7 | 9.6 | *3.7 | *2.9 | 100.0 | 171.0 |
| Long day care centre | 55.0 | 15.2 | 27.5 | 2.3 | 100.0 | 297.0 |
| Family day care | 60.3 | 20.0 | 18.8 | **1.0 | 100.0 | 95.9 |
| Occasional care centre | 29.8 | 29.8 | 37.5 | **3.0 | 100.0 | 36.3 |
| Preschool | 16.7 | 4.5 | 73.5 | 5.4 | 100.0 | 239.1 |
| Other formal care | **7.7 | *37.6 | *39.3 | *14.5 | 100.0 | 11.7 |
| Total children who used formal care(c) | 48.1 | 12.3 | 36.3 | 3.3 | 100.0 | 787.4 |
| Informal care | ||||||
| Grandparent | 50.7 | 37.9 | 3.8 | 7.6 | 100.0 | 591.6 |
| Brother/sister | 59.6 | 38.3 | - | *2.3 | 100.0 | 70.5 |
| Other relative | 28.9 | 31.6 | *2.4 | 37.2 | 100.0 | 208.3 |
| Other people | 50.1 | 39.0 | *2.6 | 8.4 | 100.0 | 227.2 |
| Total children who used informal care(c) | 46.3 | 37.6 | 3.0 | 13.0 | 100.0 | 1019.2 |
(a) Children aged 0-11 years.
(b) Includes reason unknown.
(c) Components do not add to this total as children could use more than one type of care.
*Estimates of the relative standard error between 25% and 50%.
**Estimates of the relative standard error greater than 50%.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Child Care, Australia, June 2002 (Cat. no. 4402.0).
| Age group (years) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Units | 15-24 | 25-44 | 45-69 | Total | |
| 15-69 | |||||
| WOMEN | |||||
| Total persons(a) | '000 | 1311.3 | 2885.1 | 2494.9 | 6691.3 |
| Worked at some time | % | 72.1 | 75.2 | 53.4 | 66.4 |
| Worked all year | % | 32.3 | 48.3 | 37.9 | 41.3 |
| Full-time all year | % | 22.9 | 33.1 | 23.8 | 27.6 |
| Part-time all year | % | 9.2 | 14.9 | 13.7 | 13.3 |
| Looked for work at some time | % | 24.0 | 0.1 | 5.2 | 11.5 |
| Looked for work all year | % | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.1 |
| Not in the labour force at some time | % | 59.7 | 47.5 | 59.6 | 54.4 |
| Not in the labour force all year | % | 18.2 | 20.3 | 44.4 | 28.9 |
| Worked at some time and ceased job | % | 26.7 | 17.9 | 8.4 | 16.1 |
| More than one spell of looking for work | % | 6.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 3.1 |
| MEN | |||||
| Total persons(a) | '000 | 1354.7 | 2857.8 | 2510.0 | 6722.6 |
| Worked at some time | % | 75.4 | 92.3 | 71.2 | 81.0 |
| Worked all year | % | 35.5 | 68.2 | 54.6 | 56.5 |
| Full-time all year | % | 28.9 | 65.4 | 50.4 | 52.5 |
| Part-time all year | % | 6.5 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
| Looked for work at some time | % | 25.1 | 14.6 | 8.2 | 14.3 |
| Looked for work all year | % | 2.3 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 1.7 |
| Not in the labour force at some time | % | 53.6 | 22.3 | 39.8 | 35.2 |
| Not in the labour force all year | % | 16.3 | 4.6 | 26.4 | 15.1 |
| Worked at some time and ceased job | % | 28.3 | 20.1 | 10.2 | 18.0 |
| More than one spell of looking for work | % | 5.9 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 4.1 |
(a) Components do not add to the total as it is possible for persons to be in one or more labour force categories over the year.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Experience, Feb 2001 (Cat. no. 6206.0).
| Units | Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total employees | '000 | 3637.0 | 4218.1 |
| Average weekly hours worked | hours | 29.0 | 38.8 |
| Full-time workers | hours | 38.7 | 42.6 |
| Part-time workers | hours | 17.7 | 17.2 |
| With leave entitlements | hours | 33.3 | 41.2 |
| Without leave entitlements | hours | 19.4 | 30.6 |
| Hours worked in previous week | |||
| Nil or less than one | % | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| 1-14 | % | 15.8 | 6.5 |
| 15-29 | % | 24.4 | 9.0 |
| 30-34 | % | 10.6 | 6.7 |
| 35-40 | % | 29.0 | 34.5 |
| 41-48 | % | 8.7 | 16.7 |
| 49 and over | % | 6.6 | 22.2 |
| Benefits received in main job | |||
| Paid holiday leave | % | 67.0 | 75.2 |
| Paid sick leave | % | 67.6 | 75.3 |
| Superannuation coverage | % | 90.8 | 92.5 |
| Provided by current employer | % | 89.0 | 90.6 |
| Provided by other than current employer | % | 1.7 | 1.9 |
| Trade union members | % | 21.5 | 24.5 |
| Sector | |||
| Public | % | 22.8 | 15.6 |
| Private | % | 77.2 | 84.4 |
(a) Of employees aged 15-64 years, in their main job.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Survey of Employee Earnings, Benefits and Trade Union Membership, August 2002, unpublished data.
| Females | Males | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| '000 | % | '000 | % | '000 | % | |
| Age group of operators (years) | ||||||
| 15-29 | 59.1 | 11.2 | 110.8 | 10.4 | 169.9 | 10.6 |
| 30-50 | 329.0 | 62.4 | 610.2 | 57.0 | 939.3 | 58.8 |
| 51 and over | 138.8 | 26.3 | 349.3 | 32.6 | 488.0 | 30.6 |
| Home based business operators | 317.3 | 60.2 | 681.5 | 63.7 | 998.8 | 62.5 |
| Operated at home | 156.2 | 49.2 | 196.5 | 28.8 | 352.7 | 35.3 |
| Operated from home | 293.0 | 92.3 | 652.4 | 95.7 | 945.4 | 94.7 |
| Non home based business operators | 209.6 | 39.8 | 388.8 | 36.3 | 598.4 | 37.5 |
| Total Operators | 526.9 | 100.0 | 1070.3 | 100.0 | 1597.2 | 100.0 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Characteristics of Small Business, June 2001 (Cat. No. 8127.0).
| Units | Partner in | Lone | Child(b) | Other | Non- | Total(c) | |
| couple | parent | related | family | ||||
| family | person | member | |||||
| WOMEN | |||||||
| Work related reasons | % | 43.5 | 47.7 | 39.0 | 37.1 | 50.4 | 43.6 |
| Not enough work or | |||||||
| no other jobs available | % | 12.0 | 19.8 | 21.3 | 17.4 | 24.5 | 15.5 |
| Standard work | |||||||
| arrangements/requirement of the job | % | 30.5 | 27.6 | 17.1 | 18.5 | 24.0 | 27.1 |
| Hours worked in other jobs | % | 1.0 | *0.4 | *0.6 | n.p. | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Personal reasons | % | 3.9 | 7.9 | 55.2 | 52.8 | 29.0 | 16.1 |
| Attending an educational institution | % | 1.9 | 3.1 | 54.0 | 52.8 | 24.7 | 13.7 |
| Other personal reasons(d) | % | 2.1 | 4.8 | 1.2 | - | 4.3 | 2.4 |
| Family/childcare reasons | % | 26.4 | 35.3 | *0.5 | - | *0.5 | 19.9 |
| Prefer to look after child(ren) | % | 17.7 | 23.8 | - | - | n.p. | 13.2 |
| Unable to find suitable | |||||||
| childcare/childcare too expensive | % | 0.8 | 2.7 | - | - | - | 0.8 |
| Child(ren) too young/too old for childcare | % | 2.6 | 3.6 | - | - | - | 1.9 |
| Other family/childcare reason(e) | % | 5.4 | 5.1 | *0.5 | - | n.p. | 4.0 |
| Other reasons | % | 26.1 | 9.1 | 5.3 | 10.1 | 20.0 | 20.4 |
| Own choice | % | 25.1 | 8.0 | 4.1 | 9.0 | 17.9 | 19.2 |
| Other/don't know | % | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.2 | n.p | 2.1 | 1.2 |
| Total | '000 | 933.1 | 139.9 | 234.5 | 17.8 | 147.2 | 1524.0 |
| MEN | |||||||
| Work related reasons | % | 61.2 | 58.9 | 49.9 | 48.1 | 53.1 | 54.6 |
| Not enough work or no other | |||||||
| jobs available | % | 29.3 | 34.6 | 31.3 | 25.6 | 28.5 | 29.5 |
| Standard work | |||||||
| arrangements/requirement of the job | % | 30.0 | 24.3 | 17.0 | 17.5 | 22.7 | 23.3 |
| Hours worked in other jobs | % | 1.8 | - | 1.7 | n.p | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| Personal reasons | % | 14.2 | 13.1 | 43.6 | 45.0 | 29.7 | 29.2 |
| Attending an educational institution | % | 6.0 | n.p | 41.9 | 43.1 | 25.9 | 24.5 |
| Other personal reasons(d) | % | 8.1 | *10.3 | 1.7 | n.p | 3.8 | 4.7 |
| Family/childcare reasons | % | 2.4 | 17.8 | n.p | - | n.p | 1.6 |
| Prefer to look after child(ren) | % | 1.0 | 13.1 | - | - | - | 0.6 |
| Unable to find suitable | |||||||
| childcare/childcare too expensive | % | n.p | - | - | - | - | n.p |
| Child(ren) too young/too old for childcare | % | n.p | n.p | - | - | - | *0.2 |
| Other family/childcare reason(e) | % | 0.9 | n.p | n.p | - | n.p | 0.7 |
| Other reasons | % | 22.2 | *10.3 | 6.0 | *6.3 | 16.9 | 14.7 |
| Own choice | % | 19.7 | *10.3 | 3.8 | *6.3 | 13.9 | 12.3 |
| Other/don't know | % | 2.5 | - | 2.2 | - | 3.0 | 2.3 |
| Total | '000 | 181.8 | 10.7 | 161.4 | 16.0 | 99.9 | 493.0 |
(a) In main job.
(b) Includes dependent student and non-dependent child.
(c) Includes all part-time workers. Also includes 'family status not determined'.
(d) Includes 'own ill health/physical disability', 'pregnancy' and 'welfare payments/pension may be affected'.
(e) Includes 'caring for ill/disabled child(ren)','caring for ill/aged/disabled family member' and 'other family reasons'.
*Estimates of the relative standard error between 25% and 50%.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Working Arrangements Australia 2000, unpublished data.
| Full-time employees | Part-time employees | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Units | Females | Males | Females | Males | |
| Hours worked overtime(a) | |||||
| 1-4 | % | 34.8 | 21.4 | 66.4 | 43.8 |
| 5-9 | % | 32.3 | 31.5 | 23.0 | 29.7 |
| 10-14 | % | 21.0 | 25.6 | 7.1 | 13.4 |
| 15-19 | % | 6.9 | 8.4 | 1.5 | 4.7 |
| 20-24 | % | 3.1 | 8.7 | 1.7 | 5.4 |
| 25 and over | % | 1.8 | 4.4 | *0.3 | 3.2 |
| Main reason for working overtime | |||||
| Required to get the job done | % | 76.2 | 70.8 | 69.4 | 69.9 |
| Expected part of the job | % | 16.3 | 18.3 | 15.3 | 14.8 |
| Doesn't want to let work | |||||
| colleagues down | % | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 1.0 |
| To enhance promotional | |||||
| prospects/career development | % | 0.4 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.0 |
| Needs the money | % | 3.4 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 9.7 |
| Enjoys work | % | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 2.8 |
| Other | % | 2.1 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 0.7 |
| Total persons working overtime(b) | '000 | 709.1 | 1580.0 | 185.9 | 68.8 |
(a) Hours of overtime usually worked per week in main job.
(b) Persons who worked overtime on a regular basis in their main job
*Estimates of the relative standard error between 25% and 50%.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Working Arrangements Australia, 2000, unpublished data.
| Women in Australia 2004 | Chapter 4. Working Life |