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

Other Factors Effecting Population Growth - 4
Recent demographic studies have shown that the average Australian family has 1.7 children; down from 1.9 children in the mid 1990's.

To maintain the population at a steady size, average family size should be 2.1 children. Without migration, Australia's population would continue to ''age'', and eventually fall in size. There are approximately 2 million people over the age of 65 years in Australia, and predictions are this will rise to over 4 million within the next thirty years, as the ''baby boomer'' generation reaches retirement age.

An ageing population puts great pressure on the Government's Budget. More resources must be put aside to fund health care, and pension payments.

The size of the labour force is also influenced by the school retention rate: the proportion of students who, having started primary education, stay on to finish the ''post-compulsary'' years of their education.

The size of the labour force is also influenced by the retirement age. You will read later about the labour force participation rate - the proportion of all people who do work, as a percentage of all those who could work. Many people today can retire at age 55 years. In thirty years time, because of decrease in the birth rate, there may be a shortage of labour. Already, many people argue that keeping the compulsary retirement age at 65 years may disadvantage society. People are living longer : should we allow people to work until they are 70 years old? Surely it is better to have these people paying taxes and contributing to production, than to have them collecting transfer payments from the Government (the pension). What effect will a raising of the retirement age have on the employment prospects of the young, just entering the labour market?