The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released new data from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing, showing that Australia’s total labour force of people aged 15 years and over consisted of 10,658,458 people as of August last year.

 

More than half the labour force (59.7 per cent) is reported to be employed full-time. Of this, 63.9 per cent are male. Comparatively, 28.7 per cent of the country’s workforce reported employed part-time, of which 67.9 per cent were female.

 

Census Executive Director Andrew Henderson said the latest release of 2011 Census data marked an important time for the ABS and Australia. 

 

“2011 Census data released earlier this year has already shed some light on who we are, and where we live,” Mr Henderson said. 

“The latest tranche of Census data now shows us a snapshot of what we do and how we live, helping to further shape the future of our country over the next five years, and providing a brighter future for all Australians.”

 

The figures show that one-third of Australia’s working aged population were not in the labour force, with the majority of that figure being students, retirees and stay at home parents.

 

There has also been a decline in the proportion of people who reported working 40 hours or more the week before Census, from 47.2 per cent in 2006, to 45.3 per cent in 2011, a decrease of 1.9 percentage points. 

 

Data from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing is now available on the ABS website. Visit www.abs.gov.au/census