ECONOMIC AND REVENUE POLICY DIVISION
ECONOMIC NOTE
LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS – July 2003
Key Results
Employment (‘000, mthly)
Employment (3 mthly)
Unemployment rate
Seasonally Adjusted
July 2003
Change
969.7
-1.4%
Trend
July 2003
976.7
Change
-0.1%
-
0.3%
-
0.0%
6.2%
0.7 ppts
5.9
0.1 ppts
Comment
The Western Australian labour market weakened in July 2003 with the unemployment rate
increasing to 6.2% (on par with the national unemployment rate), and employment falling by 1.4%.
Nationally, employment continued to weaken with a fall of 0.6% recorded in July and has declined in
five out of the past six months.
Such variations are not uncommon and reflect the volatility of monthly labour force data and three
monthly data provide a better indication of conditions in the labour market. In three-monthly terms,
the unemployment rate in Western Australia increased slightly to 5.8% (the equal lowest of all States
together with Victoria), despite employment growth of 0.3% and an unchanged participation rate.
Nationally, the unemployment rate increased to 6.2% in July 2003, and employment fell 0.6%.
However, in three-monthly terms, the national unemployment rate remained at 6.1% for the
10th consecutive month, as a decline of 0.3% in employment was offset by a fall in the participation
rate. The decline in employment was driven by New South Wales (down 0.8%) and Victoria (down
0.7%).
Despite short-term volatility the outlook for the labour market in Western Australia remains positive.
Strong labour market conditions are expected to continue in 2003-04, with employment growth of
2.25% forecast and the unemployment rate expected to average 5.75%. The ANZ job ads series
recorded growth of 2.3% for Western Australia in July. Compared to July last year, job ads in
Western Australia are up by a massive 27.9%. Nationally, advertisements grew 1.4% in July,
maintaining a positive trend in job advertisement growth.
DETAIL
Employment
Following three months of employment growth, employment in Western Australia declined by 1.4%
in July 2003.
In the three months to July 2003, Western Australian employment grew 0.3%:
 full-time employment increased by 0.9% (5,900 people) to 691,100 people; whereas
 part-time employment decreased by 1.0% (2,800 people) to 287,000 people.
Nationally, employment continued to decline, by 0.6% in July 2003, and has fallen in five of the past
six months. In the three months to July 2003, employment fell by 0.3%. Full-time employment
decreased by 0.4%, and part-time employment fell by 0.1%.
TREASURY & FINANCE 197 ST GEORGE’S TERRACE, PERTH WA 6000 TELEPHONE (08) 9222 9529 FAX (08) 9222 9914
Employment
NSW
Vic
Qld
WA
SA
Tas
Aust.
EMPLOYMENT GROWTH BY TYPE
July
Number
‘000s
3 months
to July
Change
%
Annual
change*
%
3,115.7
2,384.0
1,802.2
969.7
719.1
206.1
9,452.3
-1.1
0.0
0.2
-1.4
-0.1
2.2
-0.6
2.0
2.3
3.5
2.4
3.1
1.2
2.5
* 12 months to date on same period last year.
Monthly Trend Growth
Percent
1.0
0.5
0.0
-0.5
Full-Time
-1.0
Jul-99
Part-Time
Jul-00
Total
Jul-01
Jul-02
Jul-03
Unemployment
Western Australia’s unemployment rate increased by 0.7 percentage points to 6.2% in July 2003. The
increase was a result of a decline in employment (down 1.4%), which was only partly offset by a
0.6 percentage point decline in the participation rate, which fell to 66.0%. The Western Australian
participation rate remains the highest rate of all States and compares with the national rate of 63.4%.
In trend terms, the unemployment rate in Western Australia increased 0.1 percentage points to 5.9%
in July 2003, the equal lowest rate of all States (together with Victoria), below the national trend rate
of 6.2%.
Nationally, the unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage points to 6.2% in July 2003, with the 0.6%
decline in employment only being partly offset by a 0.4 percentage point decrease in the participation
rate.
Unemployment
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
July
2003
June
2003
July
2002
NSW
Vic
Qld
WA
SA
Tas
6.4
5.7
6.8
6.2
6.0
6.7
6.0
5.9
6.8
5.5
6.3
8.4
6.2
5.4
7.3
6.0
6.6
9.0
Aust.
6.2
6.1
6.2
* 12 months to date on same period last year.
12
Western Australia
Percent
Western Australia
Australia
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
Jul-93
Jul-95
Jul-97
Jul-99
Jul-01
Jul-03
Youth Unemployment
Western Australia’s youth unemployment rate decreased by 2.9 percentage points to 19.5% in
July 2003, while the national youth unemployment rate declined by 4.0 percentage points to 17.2%.
The monthly youth unemployment data, however, are not seasonally adjusted and can be extremely
volatile, so care should be taken when interpreting the data.
In annual average terms,
Western Australia’s youth unemployment rate was unchanged at 21.6%, compared with the national
average of 21.9%.
7 August 2003
For further information on these or related statistics please contact Rasmus Moerch on 9222 9912, or
e-mail rasmus.moerch@dtf.wa.gov.au .
Note: The labour force statistics are derived from a sample survey and monthly variations should be interpreted
with caution. All data are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise stated.