Territory economic review
Economic Group
Northern Territory. Department of Treasury and Finance
Territory economic review; Department of Treasury and Finance newsletters; PublicationNT; E-Journals
2014-12-01
Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).; This publication contains may contain links to external sites. These external sites may no longer be active.
English
Northern Territory -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals
Northern Territory Government
Darwin
application/pdf
Northern Territorty Government
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/254030
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/534437
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/534440; https://hdl.handle.net/10070/534442; https://hdl.handle.net/10070/534443; https://hdl.handle.net/10070/534445; https://hdl.handle.net/10070/534438
4 Economic Group, Department of Treasury and Finance Labour Market 129 000 resident employment in the Territory Unemployment rate at 3.9 per cent is the lowest of the jurisdictions The Territorys participation rate at 71.6 per cent is the highest among jurisdictions Employment In November 2014, the trend number of people employed in the Territory was about 129 000 people, a 1.0 per cent decrease from the same time last year. In the year to November 2014, employment in the Territory grew by 3.7 per cent. In other jurisdictions, the year on year change in employment ranged between a decrease of 0.6 per cent in South Australia to an increase of 2.6 per cent in Western Australia (Chart 2). Nationally employment grew by 0.9 per cent over the same period. Chart 2: Year on year change in employment, year to November 2014 Source: ABS, Labour Force Australia, Cat. No. 6202.0 Jobs versus employment? The ABS labour force statistics estimate employment based on an individuals place of residence, not their place of employment. This is a significant issue for the Territory due to the relatively large proportion of people working within the Territory, but whose usual residence is outside the Territory. As such, the ABS labour force estimates significantly understate the number of jobs in the Territory and, potentially, the growth in jobs in the Territory. The ABS 2011 Census data reports that there were 5200 people working in the Territory with a usual place of residence interstate. These workers are not included in the Territorys labour force statistics. In addition, there is a large defence force contingent based in the Territory. Members of the Australian Defence Force are not captured in ABS labour force statistics. Overseas military personnel working in the Territory such as US Marines and temporary overseas workers employed on major projects across the Territory are also excluded from the Territorys labour force data. While the ABS treat interstate resident and overseas workers consistently across all jurisdictions, the exclusion of these workers has a larger impact on Territory labour force data due to the size of this workforce in the Territory relative to other states. Employment by industry In the year to August 2014, Territory resident employment increased by 5.9 per cent, however the rate of employment growth varied substantially across the different sectors. Industries that experienced growth in the year to August 2014 included: public administration and safety, up by 20.1 per cent (3800 people); professional, scientific and technical services, up by 21.7 per cent (1300 people); construction, up by 8.8 per cent (1200 people); mining, up by 18.3 per cent (900 people); and manufacturing, up by 12.9 per cent (500 people). Partly offsetting growth were declines in: agriculture, forestry and fishing, down by 27.4 per cent (600 people); accommodation and food services, down by 14.4 per cent (1200 people); retail trade, down by 4.6 per cent (500 people); and transport, postal and warehousing, down by 4.8 per cent (300 people) Care should be taken in interpreting changes in employment numbers by industry due to the small sample of employees in the ABS survey. As such, employment numbers by industry in the Territory can be highly volatile. Employment by gender and full-time status Compared to November 2013, the trend number of people employed in the Territory decreased by 1279 in November 2014. This reflects a decrease of 667 females and 612 males of employed people. In annual terms, the trend unemployment rate for females decreased by 1.1 percentage points to 3.5 per cent. The unemployment rate for males decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 4.2 per cent, over the same period. -1 0 1 2 3 4 NSW Vic Qld WA SA Tas ACT NT Aust %