Queensland s Labour Market Progress: A 2006 Census of Population and Housing Profile Issue No. 9 People in Queensland Labour Market Research Unit August 2008
Key Points Queensland s Labour Market Progress: Queensland has a relatively larger share of people in its population (3.5%) compared with the rest of Australia (2.2%). The state s unemployment rate of 13.2% was more than double that for the rest of the population (4.5%). Around 48.0% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and above were in employment compared with 62.4% of non- Queenslanders. A large share of employment is in Public administration and safety (21.6%) and in Health care and social assistance (13.4%). The occupational dimension of employment shows a large number of jobs being in the lower skilled Labourers category (27.9% compared with only 11.7% for non- persons). Overall the non-school qualification rate for indigenous and non- was 25.3% and 44.6% respectively. Of all the groups, Aboriginals had the lowest rate of non-school qualifications at 24.8%. incomes were significantly lower on average than their non- counterparts in 2006. Torres Strait Islanders were the least well off making just $518 per week or 70% of the non-indigenous median weekly income. 1. Overview There were 455,000 people in Australia and almost 128,000 in Queensland as at Census night 2006. Queensland had a relatively greater proportion of people (3.5%) 1 than the rest of Australia (2.2%). This result held for all categories of people, though by differing amounts. For example, Torres Strait Islanders made up just 0.5% of the Queensland population though this was significantly greater than 0.1% for the rest of Australia. The relativities in terms of numbers and proportion of populations can be viewed in table 1. Table 1: Australians, Queensland and Rest of Australia, 2006 Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander (TSI) Both Aboriginal and TSI Total Non- Total* ('000) (%) ('000) (%) ('000) (%) ('000) (%) ('000) ('000) Queensland 98.7 2.7 18.4 0.5 10.5 0.3 127.6 3.5 3,552.0 3,904.5 Rest of Australia 309.0 2.1 11.1 0.1 7.3 0.0 327.5 2.2 14,714.8 15,950.8 QLD as a % of Aust 24.2 62.2 58.9 28.0 19.4 19.7 Source: ABS, 2006 Census of Population and Housing (unpublished data), place of usual residence. * Total includes 'not stated. Calculations exclude 'not stated and are based on a count of all persons (including those less than 15 years). Aboriginals were the largest of the indigenous groups with almost 99,000 in Queensland. In addition, there were almost 30,000 Torres Strait Islanders in Australia with most (around 18,000) being concentrated in Queensland in 2006. There were almost 18,000 respondents 1 This calculation excludes the 5.8% of the total population who did not respond to the question relating to status (and therefore their status cannot be determined). If these people were counted in the non- category, this would produce an population share of 3.3%. (Ph: 322 76183; Email: Jerome.bredt@deta.qld.gov.au) 1
of the 2006 Census that claimed to be both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and more than 10,000 of these resided in Queensland. Figure 1 highlights the difference in population age profiles between and non- Queenslanders. people had a traditionally shaped population distribution (pyramid shaped) without the ageing challenge that is obviously evident in the non- population; (the distribution is more barrel shaped indicating proportionately less younger people in the population). The average life expectancy of Aboriginal people is significantly less for indigenous people; in 2001 the gap was approximately 17 years with Aboriginal males life expectancy only 59.4 years (less than the oldest category in figure 1), and females 65.8 years 2. Figure 1 - population by sex and age, Queensland 2006 Males Females 65+ 55-64 45-54 35-44 25-34 15-24 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% Non- Non- Source: ABS, 2006 Census of Population and Housing (unpublished data), place of usual residence. Calculations exclude 'not stated' Figure 2 illustrates the various proportions of Queensland s population within each statistical division on Census night 2006. For example, the Far North and Brisbane statistical divisions have more than 20% each of Queensland s people. Given that much of Queensland s civilian population is concentrated in the South East corner, the indigenous result for Brisbane is significant in terms of absolute numbers. There were large proportions of indigenous in the north of the state and very few in the west where very few people live. 2 Sourced from ABS data 1996-2001 (current figures), 2008 yearbook. (Ph: 322 76183; Email: Jerome.bredt@deta.qld.gov.au) 2
Figure 2: status by Region, Queensland 2006 Inset of South East Queensland TOTAL INDIGENOUS PERSONS IN QUEENSLAND = 127,600 West Moreton (1,700) Sunshine Coast (3,400) Brisbane (30,600) Gold Coast (5,800) North West (7,000) Far North (33,100) Northern (12,900) Share of Persons by Statistical Division Greater than 20% 10% to 20% 5% to 10% 3% to 5% Less than 3% Mackay (5,500) Central West (700) Fitzroy (8,900) Wide Bay- Burnett (8,300) South West (2,700) Darling Downs (6,500) See Inset Source: ABS 2006 Census of Population and Housing (unpublished data), place of usual residence. *Includes off shore category. All Queenslanders are included in this table (including less than 15 years). 2. Labour Force The state s working age population had lower labour force participation and higher unemployment relative to non- people. The unemployment rate of 13.2% was more than double that for the rest of the population (4.5%). In terms of proportions, around 48.0% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were in employment compared with 62.4% of non- Queenslanders. (Ph: 322 76183; Email: Jerome.bredt@deta.qld.gov.au) 3
Of the 5,800 unemployed in Queensland, 68.8% were looking for full-time work, whereas amongst the employed, 60.6% were working in a full-time capacity in 2006. For the non- people, however, the position is reversed with around 60% of unemployed persons seeking full-time work while 69.2% were in full-time employment. Table 2: Australians aged 15 and over by labour force status, Queensland 2006 Both Aboriginal Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander and Torres Strait Islander Non- ('000) (%) ('000) (%) ('000) (%) ('000) (%) ('000) (%) Employed* 29.5 51.1 5.9 53.1 2.7 53.4 38.1 51.5 1773.7 63.7 full-time 16.2 28.0 3.2 28.8 1.4 28.4 20.8 28.2 1,152.2 41.4 part-time 10.5 18.2 2.1 18.7 0.9 18.2 13.5 18.3 513.1 18.4 Unemployed 4.6 8.0 0.7 6.1 0.5 9.0 5.8 7.8 84.3 3.0 seeking full-time employment 3.2 5.5 0.5 4.1 0.3 6.3 4.0 5.4 50.6 1.8 seeking part-time employment 1.4 2.5 0.2 2.0 0.1 2.7 1.8 2.4 33.7 1.2 Not in the Labour Force 23.6 40.9 4.5 40.8 1.9 37.6 30.0 40.7 926.3 33.3 Total** 60.9 100.0 11.7 100.0 5.3 100.0 78.0 100.0 2,841.1 100.0 Unemployment rate 13.6 10.3 14.4 13.2 4.5 Participation rate 59.1 59.2 62.4 59.3 66.7 Source: ABS, 2001 and 2006 Census of Population and Housing (unpublished data), place of usual residence * Includes hours worked not stated and those employed away from work 3 ** Includes labour force status not stated. There was some variation in the labour market characteristics of the separate groups. People who identified themselves only as Aboriginal, or as Torres Strait Islanders, had similar rates of labour force participation (around 59%) but the unemployment rate was higher for the former group (13.6% compared with 10.3% for Torres Strait Islanders). By comparison, those who identified as being both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander showed relatively higher participation (62.4%) and unemployment (14.4%) rates. The differences can, to some extent, reflect the geographic distribution of the population and regional employment opportunities which, in some areas are quite limited. 3. Regional Labour Force The regional labour force data indicate that employment is quite unevenly distributed, with many jobs being either in Far North (27.6% or 10,500 persons) or Brisbane (25.7% or 9,800 persons) following the concentrations of population in these areas. Generally, the shares of employment within each region were less than the respective population shares held by people. It should, however, be noted that the population figures will have a greater proportion of older individuals who are more likely to be economically inactive. 3 Employed away from work includes those on workers compensation and expected back to work, shift work, those on strike and those locked out. (Ph: 322 76183; Email: Jerome.bredt@deta.qld.gov.au) 4
Table 3: labour force status by statistical division, Queensland, 2006 Statistical division share of regional population share of regional employmt *Civilian Employed Unemployed population Persons ( 000) Per cent Unemploy ment rate Participati on rate Brisbane 9.8 1.4 18.8 1.4 1.1 12.9 62.3 Gold Coast 2.1 0.3 3.6 1.0 0.9 10.9 67.3 Sunshine Coast 1.1 0.2 2.1 1.0 0.9 14.0 63.5 West Moreton 0.4 0.1 1.0 1.9 1.5 15.8 56.1 Wide Bay-Burnett 1.9 0.4 4.7 2.5 2.0 17.8 51.7 Darling Downs 1.6 0.4 3.8 2.4 1.7 18.5 55.8 South West 0.9 0.1 1.7 9.2 6.8 13.0 62.8 Fitzroy 2.5 0.4 5.3 3.9 2.8 14.4 57.8 Central West 0.3 0.0 0.5 5.6 4.6 12.6 67.7 Mackay 1.8 0.2 3.3 3.1 2.6 11.1 66.3 Northern 3.2 0.7 7.9 5.4 3.4 17.5 51.5 Far North 10.5 1.2 20.7 12.5 9.9 10.5 59.6 North West 1.9 0.3 4.3 20.9 13.4 11.6 57.0 Queensland* 38.1 5.8 78.0 2.7 2.1 13.1 59.3 Source: ABS, 2006 Census of Population and Housing (unpublished data), place of usual residence * Includes non-classifiable, not stated and off-shore Despite the improved labour market conditions over recent years, unemployment rates remain high, particularly when compared to the Queensland average (4.7%) at the time of the 1996 Census. The highest regional unemployment rates for persons were in Darling Downs (18.5%), Wide Bay-Burnett (17.8%) and Northern (17.5%), while Far North (10.5%) and Gold Coast (10.9%) recorded the lowest. Frequently, the higher unemployment rates were also associated with below average labour force participation rates, suggesting that some potential workers continue to be discouraged at the regional level. An alternative way to look at unemployment is to consider the relative shares held by unemployed persons in each region (see figure 3). Using this measure, the North West emerges with the greatest proportion of its unemployed being persons (46.5%) followed by South West (33.1%), Far North (25.0%) and Central West (21.3%). A tentative conclusion that emerges from these figures is that initiatives to improve regional employment prospects in certain areas could also have a significant impact on regional unemployment levels. (Ph: 322 76183; Email: Jerome.bredt@deta.qld.gov.au) 5
Figure 3: shares of regional unemployment, Queensland, 2006 Brisbane Gold Coast Sunshine Coast West Moreton Wide Bay-Burnett Darling Downs South West Fitzroy Central West Mackay Northern Far North North West Queensland 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Source: ABS, 2006 Census of Population and Housing (unpublished data), place of usual residence 4. Employment by Industry To look further at employment, Queensland has 28% of Australia s (and 19.4% of the non-) population but accounts for around 31% of the nation s total (around 20% of non-) employment. The industry profile (see table 4) shows that Public administration and safety accounts for the largest share of jobs (21.6%), followed by Health care and social assistance (13.4%), Manufacturing (8.5%), Construction (8.1%) and Education and Training (7.9%). This concentration in Public administration and safety was not matched by the non- workforce which had only 6.6% employed in the industry. It is worth noting that in some other divisions, the employment shares were very similar however. These were Education and training, Agriculture, forestry and fishing and Arts and recreation services. It is also of interest to consider the state s shares of national employment within each industry. Queensland accounted for 37.4% of national job numbers in Public administration and safety but only 22.6% of national jobs in the Other services industry. In terms of the gender distribution across industries, the highest concentration of males was in Construction (89.7%) while the lowest was in Education and training with 22.7%. (Ph: 322 76183; Email: Jerome.bredt@deta.qld.gov.au) 6
Table 4: employment by industry, Queensland, 2006 (ANZSIC06) Non- Qld share of Aust Male share Indig empl Indig empl ('000) (%) ('000) (%) Per cent Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 1.2 3.2 60.0 3.5 31.7 75.3 Mining 0.9 2.5 29.6 1.7 36.5 84.0 Manufacturing 3.0 8.5 175.7 10.2 33.2 81.6 Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services 0.3 0.8 18.2 1.1 25.3 82.2 Construction 2.9 8.1 160.8 9.3 34.7 89.7 Wholesale Trade 0.9 2.5 70.7 4.1 29.8 66.3 Retail Trade 2.8 7.7 208.1 12.0 29.8 38.3 Accommodation and Food Services 2.5 7.0 124.0 7.2 32.5 33.2 Transport, Postal and Warehousing 1.5 4.3 90.3 5.2 32.1 80.3 Information Media and Telecommunications 0.3 0.8 25.9 1.5 24.2 52.7 Financial and Insurance Services 0.4 1.0 51.5 3.0 26.4 36.5 Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services 0.4 1.0 37.4 2.2 31.0 48.4 Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 0.7 2.0 101.2 5.9 25.9 38.9 Administrative and Support Services 1.3 3.7 54.0 3.1 29.8 49.6 Public Administration and Safety 7.7 21.6 114.0 6.6 37.4 56.5 Education and Training 2.8 7.9 135.6 7.8 27.6 22.7 Health Care and Social Assistance 4.8 13.4 180.3 10.4 27.1 29.0 Arts and Recreation Services 0.5 1.3 24.0 1.4 25.1 57.3 Other Services 0.9 2.5 67.0 3.9 22.6 51.0 All Industries* 35.7 100.0 1,728.4 100.0 31.1 54.1 Source: ABS, 2006 Census of Population and Housing (unpublished data), place of usual residence * Excludes not stated/inadequately described categories. 5. Employment by Occupation The occupational dimension of employment shows a large number of jobs being in the lower skilled Labourers category (27.9% compared with only 11.7% for non- persons). persons were underrepresented in the more highly skilled Professionals and Managers categories with 10.1% and 4.9% employment shares in contrast to 17.6% and 12.8% respectively for their non- counterparts. Table 5: employment by occupation, Queensland, 2006 (ANZSCO) Non- Qld share of Aust Male share Indig empl Indig empl ('000) (%) ('000) (%) Per cent Managers 1.8 4.9 222.5 12.8 26.3 54.1 Professionals 3.7 10.1 307.8 17.6 26.4 39.4 Technicians and Trades Workers 4.7 12.9 273.5 15.7 31.8 85.2 Community and Personal Service Workers 5.5 15.0 159.7 9.2 29.2 29.4 Clerical and Administrative Workers 4.7 13.0 263.1 15.1 31.1 19.4 Sales Workers 2.5 6.7 185.2 10.6 29.6 28.7 Machinery Operators and Drivers 3.4 9.4 127.5 7.3 34.1 90.7 Labourers 10.1 27.9 204.9 11.7 34.8 68.0 All Occupations* 36.3 100.0 1,744.2 100.0 31.1 54.1 Source: ABS 2006 Census of Population and Housing (unpublished data), place of usual residence (Ph: 322 76183; Email: Jerome.bredt@deta.qld.gov.au) 7
The employment data also indicate that, as with the non- workforce, some occupations are dominated by workers of one gender. Machine operators and drivers and Technicians and trades workers each had 90.7% and 85.2% males, whereas for Clerical and administrative workers, Sales workers and Community and personal service workers, males accounted for only 19.4%, 28.7% and 29.4% respectively. When looking at Queensland s share of national employment, it is apparent that the state is underrepresented in the higher skilled Managers and Professionals - with around 26% of the Australian total in each of these occupational groups, compared with the average for all occupations of around 31%. Similarly, the state s share of national employment for Machinery operators and Labourers is relatively higher. 6. Non-School Qualifications Table 6 illustrates the proportions of indigenous by highest non-school qualification attained as at Census night 2006. Overall, the non-school qualification rate for and non- was 25.3% and 44.6% respectively. Within the group, Aboriginals had the lowest rate at 24.8% compared to 27.4% for Torres Strait Islanders and both Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal peoples. Table 6: Australians by non-school qualification, Queensland 2006 Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Total Non- ('000) (%) ('000) (%) ('000) (%) ('000) (%) ('000) (%) Postgraduate Degree Level 0.2 0.5 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.4 59.8 2.3 Graduate Diploma and Graduate Level 0.2 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.4 0.3 0.5 35.7 1.3 Bachelor Degree Level 1.8 3.3 0.3 3.1 0.1 2.7 2.2 3.2 305.6 11.5 Advanced Diploma and Diploma Level 2.0 3.7 0.4 4.2 0.2 4.0 2.6 3.8 200.2 7.5 Certificate level III & IV (inc nfd) 6.4 12.1 1.2 12.5 0.7 14.2 8.3 12.3 459.5 17.3 Certificate level I & II (inc nfd) 1.1 2.1 0.3 3.5 0.1 2.9 1.6 2.3 33.9 1.3 Certificate level nfd 0.8 1.5 0.2 2.0 0.1 1.5 1.1 1.6 45.3 1.7 Inadequately described 0.6 1.2 0.1 1.3 0.1 1.4 0.8 1.2 41.6 1.6 Non-School Qualifications 13.2 24.8 2.7 27.4 1.3 27.4 17.1 25.3 1,181.6 44.6 Total* 60.9 11.7 5.3 78.0 2,841.1 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 1996, 2001 and 2006 (unpublished data) place of usual residence *Total includes not stated More than 12% of people had attained Certificate III & IV at that time. The results were similar for all groupings with the exception of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who achieved a better result with 14.2% with Certificate III & IV level qualifications. These qualifications were also the most commonly held by non-, however the rates were significantly higher at just over 17%. (Ph: 322 76183; Email: Jerome.bredt@deta.qld.gov.au) 8
Figure 4: status by non-school qualification, Queensland 2006 Postgraduate Degree Level Graduate Diploma and Graduate Level Bachelor Degree Level Advanced Diploma and Diploma Level Certificate level III & IV (inc nfd) Certificate level I & II (inc nfd) Certificate level nfd 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20% Non- Source: ABS, 2006 Census of Population and Housing (unpublished data), place of usual residence. Calculations exclude 'not stated. The only qualification level where the population in Queensland did better than their respective non- counterparts was for Certificate Level I & II; qualifications that are not well regarded by employers on aggregate in terms of their low earning outcomes. The greatest divergence between and non-indigenous outcomes was for Postgraduate degree level qualifications (0.4%, 2.3%) though there was a generally large divergence across the spectrum of university level qualifications. 7. Income incomes were significantly lower on average than their non- counterparts in 2006. Torres Strait Islanders were the least well off making just 70% of the non- wage in Queensland with an average weekly income of $518. Aboriginal Queenslanders received $524 on average per week and those that were both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders made $524 on average per week, both significantly less than non- incomes ($744). people are more likely to live in remote areas where few employment opportunities, if any, are available. Less employment infers less experience and skills; people are less likely to hold non-school qualifications than non- Queenslanders. Given that incomes relate positively to both experience and skills it is understandable that there would be some income separation between the groups. (Ph: 322 76183; Email: Jerome.bredt@deta.qld.gov.au) 9
Figure 5: Median weekly income by indigenous status, Queensland 2006 800 700 $744 600 500 $518 $524 $533 $531 400 300 200 100 0 Torres Strait Islander Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aboriginal Total Non- Source: ABS, 2006 Census of Population and Housing (unpublished data), place of usual residence. Data is based on employed population over 15 years. Negative and nil incomes are not included in calculations. (Ph: 322 76183; Email: Jerome.bredt@deta.qld.gov.au) 10