Australian Workforce

Australian Workforce

 \n

Employed

  • People who work one hour or more in the reference week

 \n

Part-time Employment

  • Work between 1 - 34 hours in a week

 \n

Full-time Employment

  • Work more than 35 hours a week

 \n

Unemployed

  • Over 15 and
  • not working 1 hour or more and
  • actively seeking work and
  • currently available for work

 \n

Unemployment Rate (as percentage)

No. of ppl unemployed/total labour force x 100

 \n

Workforce

  • Employed persons (full time + part-time)

 \n

Labour Force

  • Employed persons (full time + part-time) and unemployed persons
  • Production possibility frontier

 \n

 

 \n \n \n

Reasons for changes in the LFPR (labour force participation rates)?

The LFPR was lowest during May 2020 when Australia was heavily impacted by COVID-19 and quarantine regulations. The sudden decreases in the participation rate seem to be closely linked to the state of the pandemic as it mostly fluctuates from 2020 up until 2022. There is a significantly lower participation of women compared to men most likely due to the difference in working conditions and pay according to gender. Women are more likely to be mistreated in the workforce while still earning lower income, concluding in a significantly lower amount of supply for labour from women. Furthermore, women are also expected to take care of the home, leading to gaps in their careers and the inability to constantly work.

 \n \n

 

 \n

Reasons for changes in unemployment rate?

Corresponding the information presented in the graph on participation rates, unemployment was lowest during May 2020. This was due to the struggle to find stable employment during COVID-19 where many firms were struggling due to the difficulty to make a profit. The ability to buy of the wider public lead to limited consumption, forcing many businesses to lay off workers or completely close down. Unemployment has drastically decreased recently in the past two years with participation rates seeing a gradual increase. This is likely due to the ease of health restrictions in the workforce and society recovering back to normal after the pandemic.

 \n