Unemployed people = people aged 15 years and over who were not employed but were actively looking, and available, for work. Unemployment rate = the number of unemployed people expressed as a percentage of the labour force. Unemployment to population ratio = the number of unemployed people expressed as a percentage of the civilian population aged 15 years and over. Participation rate = the labour force expressed as a percentage of the civilian population aged 15 years and over.
Source:
Australian Bureau of Statistics Monthly Labour Force Data.
People who are unemployed have poorer physical and mental health than people who are employed. Health problems that are associated with unemployment include depression and other mental health problems, chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, and high levels of risk behaviours such as smoking. These health differentials are the result of several mechanisms. Job loss can be a consequence of ill health. Unemployment also causes ill health, by reducing people's ability to purchase goods and services - such as adequate nutrition and housing - and through its psychosocial effects, including lowered self-esteem and loss of social networks (Mathers and Schofield, 1998). The impact of unemployment on health is thought to increase with the length of unemployment, with many chronic physical and mental health problems acting as barriers to re-employment (Harris et al., 1998).
Official statistics on employment are published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics each month. Over the last 22 years, the unemployment rate in NSW has fluctuated. It peaked in 1993 at 11.6% of males and 9.5% of females, declined from 1994 to 2000, and has remained relatively steady since 2000. The unemployment rate stood at 5.5% for males and 5.3% for females in June 2006. The unemployment rate is calculated as a percentage of the labour force, rather than of the entire population of working age. This latter percentage (known as the unemployment to population ratio) has also declined over recent years. It stood at 3.9% for males and 2.9% for females in June 2006, down from a high of 8.4% of males and 4.7% of females in 1993.
The male labour force participation rate declined slowly over the last 22 years, from more than 77% in 1982 to less than 71% in 2006. In the same period, the female participation rate rose, from less than 44% to 55.5%.
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Copyright notice:
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Population Health Division. The health of the people of New South Wales -
Report of the Chief Health Officer. Sydney: NSW Department of Health. Available at:
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/public-health/chorep/soc/soc_empl.htm. Accessed (insert date of access).
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