Economics Preliminary Topic 3 Labour Markets:
The Australian Workforce
Teacher notes.
The Australian Workforce
Rationale
In this ‘laptops for learning’ lesson, students are required to explore the ABS website to
find information and access data about the Australian workforce, communicate their
findings using economics terminology appropriately via an emailed report including charts,
and contribute to a wiki.
Quality Teaching Target Areas
Connectedness, Student Direction
Outcomes
P9
P10
P11
selects and organises information from a variety of sources for relevance and reliability
communicates economic information, ideas and issues in appropriate forms
applies mathematical concepts in economic contexts
Information Communication Technologies (ICT)
How can the students use their laptops to meet this ICT outcome in Economics?

Locate and select relevant data on the internet

Create an analysis using word processor, spreadsheets and graphs

Email documents and provide feedback using the “track changes” & “new comment” functions
of MS Word

Contribute appropriately to a wiki
Background Information about the lesson
This lesson can be taught in the “Australian workforce” part of the “Labour Markets” topic of the
Preliminary course. This lesson will take 2 periods (or one long period).
Resources





Laptop
Economics Textbook
ABS website: www.abs.gov.au
Tutorial: Excel tutorial Pie chart tutorial
Wiki sites: TaLe Australian Flexible Learning Framework Wiki for Teachers
© Commonwealth of Australia 2009
Page | 1
Lesson Plan: The Australian workforce
Learn to and
Learn about
Teaching & Learning Strategies
ICT
The Australian workforce (5 mins)
The Australian
Workforce
 definition of
the
workforce
 employed
 unemployed

general
characteristic
s of the
Australian
workforce

Student Research Report –The Australian
Workforce.
Part 1 – Introduction (20 mins)
Students:

access data on the Labour Force from ABS online
to find definitions for ‘labour force’, ‘employed’ and
‘unemployed’ (click on Explanatory Notes, Glossary)

Open a new MS Excel file to create a table, and
enter the data for the latest numbers of employed
and unemployed

Complete a pie chart from the data, entitled
Australia’s Labour Force


research an
outcome of
the
contemporar
y Australian
labour
market
Class discussion of the terms workforce / labour
force, employed and unemployed

Open a MS Word document; entitle it ‘Research
Report – The Australian Workforce’; paste the pie
chart; save the document
Excel tutorial
Pie chart
tutorial
Complete an introduction (250 words) describing
the Australian workforce including definitions, pie
graph and reference to the current figures.
Part 2 – General characteristics of the Australian
Workforce (30 mins)
Students:

predict
impacts on
society and
the economy
of changes
to the nature
of work and
the
workforce

Access the ABS labour statistics brief online;

Choose any 4 characteristics of the Australian
workforce, e.g. Labour Force Participation;
Employed Persons by Industry

Write a description of each characteristic, including
appropriate headings and one graph/table for each
(at least 2 graphs should be constructed by the
students; info sources and copied graphs must be
acknowledged); add to the MS document

Write a conclusion to the report including a
summary & predictions for the future.

Include a bibliography and glossary
© Commonwealth of Australia 2009
labour statistics
brief
If the above link
does not work: go
to
www.abs.gov.au
and search
‘labour statistics
brief’
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Learn to and
Learn about
Teaching & Learning Strategies

Email the report to a partner to check for
spelling/grammar, report format e.g. Headings, clear
& accurate explanations, graphs.

Partners read the document and make editions and
comment utilising the “new comment” and “track
changes” function in MS Word

Partners email the document back to the author and
discuss feedback
ICT
Wiki Activity (10 mins)

Students post information about the Australian
workforce on a wiki created by the teacher
Wiki for
Teachers
Conclusion (10 mins)


Students discuss aspects of their responses
Teacher shows wiki on large screen; Class reviews
the wiki for accuracy and thoroughness and teacher
or appointed students make corrections
© Commonwealth of Australia 2009
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