Updated 17 August 2018
PDF version [338KB]
Penny Vandenbroek
Statistics and Mapping Section
Introduction
This guide provides a brief overview of long-term
unemployment, an introduction to the key concepts and terminology, and lists
relevant data sources. This is one in a series of statistical quick guides,
designed to provide a basic understanding of Australian labour market data.
Other guides include labour
force, unemployment,
employment
and youth
unemployment, which are available from the Parliamentary
Library website.
In the labour force framework, unemployed people form part
of the currently active population who, along with the employed, constitute the
labour force. The long-term unemployed are a sub-set of this group (see diagram
below).
Labour
force framework
Source: ABS, Labour Statistics: Concepts, sources and methods, Feb
2018, cat. no. 6102.0.55.001
Who are unemployed people?
The International
Labour Organization (ILO) describes unemployed people as those who, during
a specific recent period were: not working; available to work; and undertaking
activities to seek work. The concept of ‘without work’ is used to distinguish
unemployed people from the employed. A person must not have undertaken any work
at all (not even for one hour) during the reference period. The long-term
unemployed are a sub-set of unemployed people. They are classified as
long-term unemployed based on the duration of their job search (52 weeks or
longer).
How is unemployment measured?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) conducts a
monthly Labour
Force Survey. This household survey is designed to produce key estimates of
unemployment (and employment) from a sample of approximately 50,000 people.
|
Unemployed
persons are defined as all persons aged 15 years and over who were not
employed during the reference week and:
- had actively looked for work and were available to work (in the
reference week), or
- were waiting to start a new job.
The long-term
unemployed are those people who are classified as unemployed and have not
worked for 52 weeks or longer.
|
More information on the definition is
provided in Unemployment
statistics: a quick guide.
Duration of job search
To measure the duration
of job search, the ABS focuses on the period of time that has elapsed since
an unemployed person began looking for work and was available to start work. The
period is measured up to the end of the survey reference week. Any brief period
of work (greater than one hour), during the job seeking period will result in a
break in the duration. Prior to July 2014, the ABS measured the duration of
unemployment based on different parameters for both looking for work and breaks
in the period of looking. For more information, see: Information
paper: Forthcoming changes to labour force statistics, Jun 2014 (cat.
no. 6292.0).
What are the key measures?
The number of long-term unemployed
people (head count)
Each month the ABS
estimates the number of unemployed people, releasing trend, seasonally adjusted
and original data by duration of job search and sex. People whose duration of
active job search is 52 weeks or longer are considered to be long-term
unemployed.
Data is available from Labour
force, detailed – electronic delivery (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001), see:
-
Tables 14a (duration and sex) and 14b (duration and age), or for
estimates of median duration, Tables 14c (state/territory), 14d (age), 14e (by
relationship in household) and 16c (labour market region).
-
Data cubes: UM2 (state/territory), UM3 (age), RM3 (labour market
region) and FM4 (relationship in household).
Chart 1 (on the next page) provides changes in the number
of long-term unemployed people from the start of the data series to the most
recent period. Breaks in the series, due to the introduction of new survey
questionnaires, have been highlighted at April 2001 and July 2014. For more
information see paragraph 18 of the ‘Explanatory notes’ tab, Labour force
(cat. no. 6202.0).
1. Number of long-term unemployed people—trend
Source: ABS, Labour force, detailed - electronic delivery, Jun 2018, cat. no. 6291.0.55.001
Time series data is also
provided in the Parliamentary Library’s Monthly
Statistical Bulletin, see ‘1.4 Long-term unemployment’.
Duration of unemployment
Chart 2 provides a snapshot of long-term unemployed people
by selected age groups and their median duration of job search (in weeks). The
median differs from the mean (average) in that it divides the spectrum of weeks
in half, with equal groupings above and below this point. The median is less
affected by unusual values (i.e. outliers) than the mean. This measure helps to
depict the number of weeks most people spent searching for a job. The median
duration across all age groups is also included (see ‘Total’).
2. Median duration of job search for the long-term
unemployed by age, Jun 2018—original
Source: ABS, Labour force, detailed - electronic delivery, Jun 2018, cat. no. 6291.0.55.001
Long-term unemployment ratio
The long-term unemployment ratio
expresses the number of people unemployed for 52 weeks or more as a
proportion of all unemployed people. Chart 3 provides the long-term unemployment
ratio from the start of the data series until the most recent period. Regular
updates are available from the Parliamentary Library’s Monthly
Statistical Bulletin, see ‘1.4 Long-term unemployment’.
3.
Long-term unemployment ratio—trend
Source: ABS, Labour force, detailed - electronic delivery, Jun 2018, cat. no. 6291.0.55.001
Chart 4 provides the long-term unemployment ratio by state
or territory at June 2008 and June 2018 (average of 12 months ending). The
annual average has been used to assist in smoothing some of the data
volatility. Data is from the original series.
4. Long-term unemployment ratio by state or territory—annual average
Source: ABS, Labour force, detailed - electronic delivery, Jun 2018, cat. no. 6291.0.55.001
Where do I find regional data?
Labour
force, detailed – electronic delivery, cat. no. 6291.0.55.001
provides monthly unemployment data by duration of job search for Statistical
Area Level 4 (SA4), or ‘labour market region’. These are the smallest available
geographic areas, see: Table 16c and Data cube RM3. Data is from the original
(unadjusted) series, therefore the use of an annual average is recommended, as
is caution when interpreting the data. For Library clients, a correspondence
between Commonwealth Electoral Divisions and selected geographies (including
SA4s) is available via the Library portal,
see ‘Your electorate’ > ‘Population’. Note
that the Census does not collect information on a person’s duration of
unemployment.
What other ABS data is available on the long-term unemployed?
The most relevant ABS publication is Participation,
job search and mobility (cat. no. 6226.0), which provides information
on people looking for work, duration of job search and the main difficulty
finding work.
Where do I find data on jobseekers receiving allowances?
The Parliamentary Library’s Monthly Statistical Bulletin
provides a time series of jobseeker numbers, including a breakdown of long-term
and short-term recipients, see: 1.8 Jobseekers receiving allowances.
The Department of Social Services’ publication, Labour
market and related payments monthly profile, provides more
extensive data on Newstart (and some other benefit) recipients, including
long-term jobseekers. Note that the figures vary to those released by the ABS
due to differing methodologies in calculating ‘unemployed’ persons and duration
of unemployment.
Where can I find international data?
OECD Data
provides summary labour force indicators, including comparison unemployment
rates and long-term unemployment rates, for OECD member countries. The annual publication,
Employment
Outlook also contains information on long-term unemployment. Note that the
length of duration of unemployment may vary between countries. Generally, the
European Union consider the long-term unemployed as those whose period of job
search is one year or longer, while the United States of America uses a period
of job search that is 27 weeks or longer.
European Commission, Alert
Mechanism Report 2018: Statistical Annex, Commission Staff Working
Document, 22 Nov 2017.
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