Page 68 - Contributed Paper Session (CPS) - Volume 6

CPS1499 Hayley Collett

4. Discussion and Conclusion
The Australian Labour Account can help to inform on a number of macro-
economic and policy related questions. Many of these questions are able to
be answered for the first time through the holistic and integrated approach to
analysing the labour market provided by the Australian Labour Account, while
other questions are able to be answered in a more considered and
comprehensive way.
For example, consider the answers to the following questions:
How many people are employed in Australia?
It depends on when you ask this, who you ask, and how you ask the question.
Based on the answers provided by "responsible adults" from the households
where workers live, the basic approach used in the Labour Force Survey, there
were 12.5 million people employed in Australia in financial year 2017-18.
Based on the answers provided by "responsible representatives" of businesses
and other enterprises where they work, the approach adopted in business
surveys, there were 13.2 million filled jobs in Australia in financial year 2017-
18.
Why are the two figures different?
First, they are counting different things - for example, the Labour Force Survey
asks about a person’s main job to identify employed and unemployed people,
and people not in the labour force. However, a person holding two jobs will
be counted twice in a business survey, once by each employer. Business
surveys measure the number of "filled jobs", not the number of employed
people. When people in households were asked how many jobs they have,
they told the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in 2017-18 they had 13.3
million. Businesses reported they had 13.2 million filled jobs, which was

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