Index
The Labour Force - 1
Birth And Death Rates - 2
Migration And Age Distribution - 3
Other Factors Effecting The Labour Force - 4
Attitudes To Work And Leisure- 5
Australia's Population - Statistical Analysis - 6
Population Centres In Australia - 7
Trends In Employment - 8
The Supply And Demand For Labour - 9
Geographical Mobility And Taxation - 10
The Unemployment Rate - 11
Defining ''Employment'' - 12
The Labour Force Reviewed - 13
The Hidden Unemployed - 14
Changes In Employment And Unemployment - 15
Economic Growth And Employment - 16
The Demand For Labour - 17
The Impact Of The Global Economy - 18
Legal Requirements - 19
The ''Casualisation'' Of The Labour Force - 20
Types of Unemployment - 21
Types of Unemployment (continued) - 22
The Labour Force Participation Rate - 23
The LFPR (continued) - 24
The Effects Of Unemployment - 25
Income Inequality - 26
The Distribution Of Household Income - 27
Income Distribution In Australia - 28
Income Distribution (continued) - 29
Income Distribution (continued) - 30
Changes In The Workforce - 31
Net Overseas Migration - 32
Sources Of Migrant Intake - 33
Changes In The Workforce (continued) - 34
Youth Unemployment - 35
''Mature'' Unemployment - 36
Supply Side Economics - 37
Revision Exercise - 1 - 38
Revision Exercise - 2 - 39

The Labour Force Reviewed - 13
The ABS interviews two thirds of one percent of Australian ''households'' each month to calculate the unemployment rate. A household is defined as all those people living in a dwelling; about 35,000 households are surveyed in total. The number of people in a dwelling can vary; a semi-detached house, with two residents is a household, as is a large home with several adults (parents and grandparents and children). People residing in hotels and motels are also surveyed.

The survey is undertaken in urban and rural areas in Australia. A limitation of the ABS survey of unemployment is that the sample size is small, as a result, the reported unemployment rate can vary as a result of random error. The measurement of rural unemployment in South Australia may be based on a quite small number of interviews; changes in unemployment rate from month to month could easily not represent improvements in the economy, but simply sampling error.

Where do you fit, if you don't have employment, but also don't fit the criteria for ''unemployment''? The ABS says you are not in the labour force.

Area ''A represents the ''employed'' members of the labour force.

B represents the ''unemployed'' members of the labour force.

The total labour force is A + B.

C represents the those people who are ''not in the labour force''; that is neither employed or actively seeking work.