Creating Opportunity or Entrenching Disadvantage?  5 Years on.

ACT Labour Market Data Update

October 2019

ACTCOSS and WCHM acknowledge that Canberra has been built on the land of the Ngunnawal people. We pay respects to their Elders and recognise the strength and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and ongoing contribution to the ACT community.

This is an update of a report which was published in October 2014 by ACTCOSS in partnership with the Women’s Centre for Health Matters.
Author of original report		Adele Perry, Project Officer, Women’s Centre for Health Matters
Author of this update:		Sandra Wiens, Women’s Centre for Health Matters

	About ACTCOSS
	The ACT Council of Social Service Inc. (ACTCOSS) advocates for social justice in the ACT and represents not-for-profit community organisations.
	
	ACTCOSS is a member of the nationwide COSS Network, made up of each of the state and territory Councils and the national body, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS).
	
	ACTCOSS’ vision is for Canberra to be a just, safe and sustainable community in which everyone has the opportunity for self-determination and a fair share of resources and services.

	The membership of the Council includes the majority of community-based service providers in the social welfare area, a range of community associations and networks, self-help and consumer groups and interested individuals.
	
	About Women’s Centre for Health Matters Inc.
	The Women’s Centre for Health Matters Inc. (WCHM) is a community based organisation which works in the ACT and surrounding region to improve women’s health and wellbeing. WCHM believes that the environment and life circumstances which each woman experiences affects her health outcomes. WCHM focuses on areas of possible disadvantage and undertakes social research, advocacy, community development and health promotion to influence systems change with the aim to improve women’s health and wellbeing outcomes. 

October 2019
© Copyright ACT Council of Social Service Incorporated
This publication is copyright, apart from use by those agencies for which it has been produced. Non-profit associations and groups have permission to reproduce parts of this publication as long as the original meaning is retained and proper credit is given to the ACT Council of Social Service Inc (ACTCOSS) and the author. All other individuals and Agencies seeking to reproduce material from this publication should obtain the permission of the Director of ACTCOSS.

Table of contents
The ACT Labour Market: Past and current trends4
Projected employment growth to 2018 in the ACT5
Characteristics of industries and occupations in the ACT
Public Administration and Safety Industry
Contract, Program and Project Administration
Intelligence and Policy Analysts
General Clerks7
Australian Public Service Employment Data8
Health Care and Social Assistance Industry9
Registered Nurse9
Welfare Support Workers10
Child Carers10
Aged & Disability Carers11
Analysis of the Health Care and Social Assistance Industry……………...11
 Education and Training Industry12
Early Childcare (Pre-primary School) Teachers13
Education Aides 13
University Tutors ……………………………………………………….. 14
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services Industry14
Bookkeepers and Accounting Clerks15
Software and Applications Programmers16
Management and Organisation Analysts..…………………………….16
Qualification, skills and experience17
Qualifications17
Employability skills17
Employment Statistics17

Introduction
In October 2014, ACTCOSS and the Women’s Centre for Health Matters collaborated to release a report for Anti-Poverty Week titled Creating Opportunity or Entrenching Disadvantage? which explored ACT labour market data and trends, and the female share for the largest employing industries in the ACT. 
The report showed that —outside of public sector employment— the industries with growing employment opportunities in the ACT that did not require degree-level qualifications were those where women were significantly over-represented, had comparatively low (full-time) wages and where part-time employment was the norm. Of the occupations that were likely to grow at that time, most provided at or below the average weekly earnings for all occupations, which meant that - with the high costs of living in the ACT - people employed in these occupations would struggle with low and insecure income.
At that time, women in the ACT (when compared to men) had higher unemployment rates, lower participation rates, lower fulltime employment, a higher underemployment rate and a higher underutilisation rate. 
Now 5 years later, approximately 37,000 people live in low-income households in the ACT, and  women are over-represented in Canberra’s low-income households. With the cost of living in the ACT also increasing and Canberra’s overall CPI increasing above the national rate, we have revisited the latest data to determine what changes have occurred in the labour market and how women have fared though the changes compared to men.     

The ACT Labour Market 2019 Update
Figures released in May 2019 indicate that in the ACT, the largest employing industries are: Public Administration and Safety (23.7%); Health care and Social Assistance (11.7%); Education and Training (8.9%); Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (8.8%); Accommodation and Food Services (8.5%); Construction (8.3%); and Retail Trade (7.6%).
Over the past five years, the labour market in the ACT has experienced marked changes. Whilst the Public Administration and Safety still remains the largest employer, it has seen the largest decrease  in market share from 32.1% to 23.7%. A decrease has also occurred in the Professional, Scientific and Technical services from 9.4% to 8.8%, followed by the continued decrease of the Retail Trade from 7.9% to 7.6%. Both Health Care and Social Assistance (10.5% to 11.7%) and Education and Training (8.2% to 8.9%) experienced increases, however, Accommodation and Food Services and Construction have seen the largest increases in their share of the workforce from 6.7% to 8.5% and 6.2% to 8.3% respectively.  
Overall, the labour market conditions in the ACT have slowed over the past year and as of January 2019, total employment decreased by 1% (in 2014 it was also slowing by 0.8%). Full-time employment fell by 3.8% while part-time employment increased by 6.9%. The short-term employment outlook for the ACT is positive with a forecast by ACT Treasury for a 1.75% increase over the next year and a projected increase of 5.7% over the next five years. 
Almost a third of the ACT’s workforce is Professionals 28.6% (previously 32%). Clerical and Administrative Workers at 15.7% (previously 19%) and Managers at 13.9% (previously 15%) are the next two largest occupation groups. This is somewhat  lower but similar to the previous report’s distribution numbers. 
The ACT workforce is highly skilled. Forty-nine per cent of ACT workers hold a Bachelor degree or higher qualification (compared to the national figure of 32%) and up 7% from the previous report. Reflecting the ACT’s low share of industries in which trades employment is significant, fewer ACT workers hold a Certificate III or higher Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification (25% compared to 31% nationally). This has not changed much from the previous report where it was 24%.  
Twenty three per cent of those in the ACT workforce do not have any post-school qualification (compared to 32% nationally). This figure has dropped by 7% since the previous report in 2014 where 30% of the ACT workforce did not have post-school qualifications. In contrast, there has not been a change in the percentage of the ACT workforce that works part-time over the same time period. This number remains steady at 27% (compared with 32% nationally); and 49% of the part time workforce is female (compared to 47% nationally), an increase of 1% since the previous report.
In the 12 months to January 2019 unemployment declined 0.6 percentage points making it the lowest rate of any state or territory in Australia.  

Projected employment growth to 2023 in the ACT 
In the ACT the highest projected employment growth to May 2023 is not Public Administration and Safety as projected in the previous report, but rather in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry, followed by Administration and Safety, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, Education and Training and Accommodation and Food Services. In 2023, the ACT is projected to record a growth rate of 5.7% (compared to 7.1% nationally). However, the Public Administration and Safety industry is projected to make the second largest contribution of 22.1% (compared with 4.3% nationally), closely followed by Professional, Scientific and Technical Services with 20.1% of projected employment growth. This means that in 2023, the Public Administration and Safety industry will account for 28.3% of the labour market, followed by continued strong growth in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry at 12%, the second largest share of the labour market, slightly ahead of the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry at 11.8%. 
Jobs in the Education and Training industry will grow marginally, providing a 9.4% share of jobs. Coming in with the fifth largest growth rate of 0.7, Accommodation and Food Services industry will account for 7.5% of the labour market. The Retail market is expected to lose its share of the labour market with 6.8% of jobs and the Construction industry coming in at 6.2% of the labour market.  

Characteristics of industries and occupations in the ACT 
Current industry and occupation data provides information that can be used to make predictions about the accessibility of the ACT labour market in the coming years.

Public Administration and Safety Industry 
The Public Administration and Safety industry covers: federal and territory government administration; justice systems; defence and public order; and safety and regulation services. 
In the ACT, 23.7% of the workforce is employed by the Public Administration and Safety industry. 51.5% of the workforce is female (previously 49%) and 13% of employees are employed part-time (previously 10%).  Nationally, the industry is comprised of a slightly older demographic, with just over a quarter of workers aged under 35 years, compared with almost 40% across all industries. Previously 45% of employees were aged 45 years or above reflecting a continued trend.  
Below, characteristics (based on data from 2016) of selected occupations are detailed and can be compared with figures from the previous 2014 report, when  average hours worked per week was 41.1 and the average earnings for all occupations per week was $1,152. Whereas, in 2016 the average hours worked per week for all occupations is 44 and the average earnings per week for all occupations before tax is $1,460.
 Contract, Program and Project Administration
Persons employed in this occupation plan and undertake administration of contracts, organisational programs, special projects and support services. Rather than grow as previously expected, this industry is expected to decline over the next five years.
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	31.4% have a Bachelor Degree	33.3% have a Bachelor Degree 	
Female share	62%	53.8%	
Work type	18% part-time, avg full-time hours/week 43	14.7% part-time, avg full-time hours/week 39.6	
Age group (largest %)	29.6% are 35-44 years. Median age is 42.	30.6% were 35-44 years. No median age recorded. 	
Earnings	weekly full-time earnings before tax $1660	weekly full-time earnings before tax $1600	
Intelligence and Policy Analysts
Persons employed in this occupation collect and analyse information and data to produce intelligence and to develop and analyse policy.
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	43% have a Bachelor degree	49.8% Bachelor Degree	
Female share	62%	60.2%	
Work type	20% part-time, avg full-time hours/week 41	18.2% part-time, avg full-time hours/week 37.4	
Age group (largest %)	34.3% are 25-34 years. Median age is 38.	33% are 25-34 years. Median age is 40. 	
Earnings	weekly full-time earnings before tax $1821.	weekly full-time earnings before tax $1607.	

General Clerks
Persons employed in this occupation perform a range of clerical and administrative tasks.
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	25.5% have a year 12 certificate	29.5% have a year 12 certificate	
Female share	85%	80.4%	
Work type	43% part-time, avg full-time hours/week 40	37.6% part-time, avg full-time hours/week 35.8	
Age group	25.7% are 45-54 years. Median age is 44.	25.8% are 45-54 years. Median age is 42. 	
Earnings	weekly full-time earnings before tax $1073.	weekly full-time earnings before tax $942.	

Australian Public Service Employment Data
A large majority of Australian Public Service (APS) employees are employed in the Public Administration and Safety industry. 37.9% of APS employees are located in the ACT. The proportion of employees found in the ACT has decreased since the previous report when 39.7% of APS employees were based in the ACT. 
The proportion of ongoing APS employees in the ACT decreased from 95.4% in 2014 to 94.1% in 2019.
Non-ongoing employees accounted for 5.6% of all ACT employees in December 2019 (compared to 4.6% in 2013). Non-ongoing employees tend to be employed at lower classification levels; at June 2019, 41.0% of APS 1-3 employees were non-ongoing (in June 2013, 30.9% were non-ongoing). 73.8% of APS 1 and 54.2% of APS 2 employees were non-ongoing compared to 47.6% for APS 1 and 40.7% APS 2 in 2013. 
In the category of ongoing employees, the classifications with the greatest numerical decreases from 2014 to 2019 were EL 1 (3299), APS 3 (3771) and APS 4 (2607). This was compares to the previous report, with 2014 data, where the greatest numerical decrease was in the classifications EL 1 and EL 2
In 2019, women account for the majority (57.7%) of APS employees in the ACT (55.7% in 2013). 62.4% of those at APS1-4 classification levels are women (63.5% in 2013 for the same category). The largest number of women are employed at the APS 6 level when in 2013 the largest number of women were employed as EL 1 level. 47.8% of SES officers in the ACT are women(compared to 41.9% in 2013).
Since the previous report and taking into account the reduction in size of the APS, the proportion of APS employees with graduate qualifications has increased only slightly to 13% (from 12.5% in 2013-14). There is still no ACT specific data available on the number of people with disability or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples employed in the APS. Nationally, 5179 (3.5% compared with 2.1% in 2013) employees identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and 5508 (3.7% compared with 3% in 2013) persons report having a disability at June 2019. 

Health Care and Social Assistance Industry
The top five occupations in the HealthCare and Social Assistance industry are: Registered Nurses; Aged and Disability Carers; Child Carers; Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers. In the ACT the workforce has seen an increase in the female and part-time workers share of the industry, from 76% to 80% female and from 33% to 46.6% of part-time workers. 
Nationally, the Health Care and Social Assistance industry has one of the most highly educated workforces with 80% (up 3% from 2013) of employees having attained post-school qualifications; 48% (compared to 41.6%) of the workforce hold a Bachelor Degree or Higher and 32% (compared with 31%) have an Advanced Diploma/Diploma or Certificate III/IV. 
Within the industry nationally, the anticipated growth of the following occupations experienced what was expected-strong growth, and they are projected to continue to grow strongly to May 2023: Child Carers, Age and Disabled Carers, and Registered Nurses. However, Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers experienced moderate growth but are projected to experience strong growth over the next four years along with Welfare Support Workers (which experienced a downturn in growth over the past five years contrary to the projections made in 2014). General Clerks also experienced a difference in what was projected five years ago having grown strongly but is projected to only experience moderate growth through to 2023. 
Below, characteristics (comparing data from 2013 to 2016) of selected high growth occupations are detailed.  

Registered Nurse
Registered Nurses provide nursing care to patients in hospitals, aged care and other health care facilities, and in the community.
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	61.7% have a Bachelor Degree	51.7% have a Bachelor Degree	
Female share	89%	90.2%	
Work type	50% work part-time.	47.9% work part-time	
Age group (largest %)	24.9% are 25-34 years of age. Average age is 43.	26% are 45-54 years of age. (No average was provided)	
Earnings	weekly full-time before tax $1,909.	Weekly full-time before tax $1,289.	

Welfare Support Workers
Welfare Support Workers provide support, information and advice to clients on emotional, financial, recreational, health, housing and other social welfare matters, and evaluate and coordinate the services of welfare and community service agencies.
Jobs titles include: Community Worker; Disabilities Services Officer; Family Support Worker; Residential Care Officer; and Youth Worker.
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	26.8% have a Bachelor Degree	26.6% have a Cert III/IV	
Female share	74%	70.6%	
Work type	37% work part-time (average full-time hours per week 41)	34.5% work part-time (average hours per week 38.7)	
Age group (largest %)	24.6% are 45-54 years. Median age is 40 years.	29.8% are 45-54 year. Median age is 43 years. 	
Earnings	weekly full-time before taxes $1,328.	Weekly full-time before taxes $1150. 	

Child Carers
Child Carers provide care and supervision for children in residential homes and non-residential childcare centres.
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	31.8% have an Advanced Diploma/Diploma	34.7% have a Certy III/IV	
Female share	95%	95.2% 	
Work type	50% work part-time (average full-time hours per week 41).	48% work part-time (average full-time hours per week 37)	
Age group (largest %)	26.7% are 25-34 years. Median age is 33 years.	24.9% are 25-34 years. Median age is 32 years.	
Earnings	weekly full-time before taxes $953.	Weekly full-time before taxes $740. 	

Aged and Disability Carers 
Aged and Disabled Carers provide general household assistance, emotional support, care and companionship for aged and disabled persons in their own homes.
Job titles include: Personal Care Worker, or Personal Carer.
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	42.6% have a Certificate III/IV	43.6% have a Cert III/IV	
Female share	80%	81.9% 	
Work type	67% work part-time (average full-time hours per week 43).	63.9 work part-time (average full-time hours per week 38.1)	
Age group (largest %)	27.1% are 45-54 years. Median age is 47 years	28.2% are 45-54 years. Median age is 48 years.	
Earnings	weekly full-time before taxes $1,265.	weekly full-time before taxes $900.	

Analysis of the Health Care and Social Assistance Industry
In three of the highest growth occupations in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry Certificate III/IV qualifications are largely a minimum requirement. This has not changed and is likely to continue over the next five years as the industry experiences growth. This can be seen through high university enrolment in health over the past decade where enrolments have doubled. 
Projections indicate that the Health Care and Social assistance industry will have the largest growth of any industry over the next five years to May 2023. This is largely attributed to the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the aging Australian population.  
As reported in 2014, occupations in this industry remain dominated by women and full-time employment is not the norm. For those who do work full-time, the average hours worked each week is consistently less than the average hours for all occupations. Except for Registered Nurses, workers in the top three growth occupations in this industry are below the average earnings for all occupations.  
Growth occupations in the industry are likely to be accessible for workers of all ages. For example, employers for the Aged and Disability sector rated relevant qualifications less important than good personal qualities (33% versus 37%) and relevant experience (32%) making it an accessible occupation for workers in the projected growth for the industry. The earning potential of these occupations continues to be an issue for workers of all ages.
Education and Training Industry 
In the ACT, the Education and Training industry workforce remains at 65% female (compared to 72% nationally—the second highest proportion of any industry) and 35% of people work part-time (compared to 39% nationally) a drop of 4% over the past five years. 
The largest occupations within the industry remain primary and secondary teachers. In the last five years strong growth was seen in the Early Childhood Teachers and General Clerks occupations as projections indicated, however, Education Aides experienced only moderate growth and not the expansion of its workforce share as predicted. Over the next four years projections show a continued increase in the workforce for Early Childhood Teachers and strong growth for Education Aides and only moderate growth for General Clerks. Also, unlike the previous forecast indicating a decrease in University and Tutor jobs, this occupation experienced strong growth over the past five years and is likely to continue to do so through to May 2023.  
As stated in the previous report, this workforce is highly educated, and post-secondary education is almost a requirement for most occupations within this industry. Projections indicate that this is a strong industry which will be influenced by growth in the school aged population, strength in international education and a growing need for adult and community education. Additionally, there is a relatively high percentage of workers that are 55 plus (22%) who will reach retirement over the next decade creating further workforce opportunities in the industry. 
Below, characteristics (comparing data from 2013 to 2016) of selected high growth occupations are detailed.
Early Childhood (pre-primary School) Teachers
Early Childhood (Pre-Primary School) Teachers teach the basics of numeracy, literacy, music, art and literature to early childhood (pre-primary) students and promote students' social, emotional, intellectual and physical development.
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	59% have a Bachelor Degree	49.2% have a Bachelor Degree	
Female share	98%	98.3%	
Work type	44% work part-time (average full-time hours worked per week 42)	60.3% work part-time (average full-time hours per week 37.6)	
Age group (largest %)	28.3% are 25-34 years. Median age is 40 years	27.7% are 25-34 years. Median age is 40 years	
Earnings	weekly full-time before taxes $1,488.	Weekly full-time before taxes $1,007	

Education Aides
Education aides perform non-teaching duties to assist teaching staff in schools, provide care and supervision for children in preschools, and provide assistance to Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Maori students and their teachers.
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	35.2% have a Certificate III/VI	NA	
Female share	90%	NA	
Work type	78% work part-time (average full-time hours worked per week 39)	NA	
Age group (largest %)	34.1% are 45-54 years. Median age is 46 years	NA	
Earnings	weekly full-time before taxes $1,094	NA	

University Lecturer and Tutor
University Lecturers and Tutors prepare and deliver lectures and conduct tutorials in one or more subjects within a prescribed course of study at a university and conduct research in a particular field of knowledge. 
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	75.4% have a Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate	NA	
Female share	49%	NA	
Work type	41% work part-time (average full-time hours worked per week 46).	NA	
Age group (largest %)	24.1% are 45-54 years. The average age is 45 years	NA	
Earnings	weekly full-time before taxes $2,511	NA	

Professional, Scientific and Technological Services Industry 
The Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry covers a range of services including: scientific research; architectural; engineering and technical; legal and accounting; advertising; management and consulting; and computer system design.
In the ACT the industry has a current workforce that is 39% (down from 40% in the last report) female and 21.6% (slightly up from 21%) are part-time workers. Nationally, 63% (up from 56% in 2013) of workers in the industry hold a Bachelor degree or higher qualification. Upskilling remains a trend across each of the occupational groups as shown by the fact that professionals represent 58% of this industry. 
The largest occupations within the industry are now Accountants, Software and Application Programmers, and Solicitors (previously solicitors were the second largest occupation). As formerly reported, Secretary employment experienced a steep decline over the past five years and projections indicate this trend to continue. As indicated, strong growth did occur in the following occupations with future outlook showing continued growth: Software and Applications Programmers; Management and Organisation Analysts; Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Management; and Accountants (the only occupation that is projected to have moderate growth). 
Below, characteristics (comparing data from 2013 to 2016) of selected high growth occupations are detailed.
Bookkeepers
Bookkeepers maintain and evaluate records of financial transactions in account books and computerised accounting systems.
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	18.7% have a Bachelor Degree	22.2% have a Cert III/IV	
Female share	91%	91.5	
Work type	67% work part-time (average full-time hours per week 42).	70.5% work part-time. No average hours were recorded.	
Age group (largest %)	28.8% are 45-54 years. Median age is 48 years	27.1% are 35-44 years. Median age is 47 years.	
Earnings	weekly full-time before taxes $1,234	Weekly full-time before taxes $1,000.	

Accounting Clerks
Accounting Clerks monitor creditor and debtor accounts, undertake related routine documentation, and calculate and investigate the cost of wages, materials, overheads and other operating costs.
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	22.8% have a Year 12 certificate	26.2% have a Year 12 certificate	
Female share	81%	82%	
Work type	34% work part-time (average full-time hours per week 41)	34.5% work-part (average full-time hours per week 38.1)	
Age group (largest %)	25.9% are 45-54 years. Median age is 44 years	25.6% are 35-44 years. Median age is 42 years. 	
Earnings	weekly full-time before taxes $1,190	Weekly full-time before taxes $1,011	

Software and Application Programmers
Software and Applications Programmers design, develop, test, maintain and document program code in accordance with user requirements, and system and technical specifications.
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	55% have a Bachelor Degree	59.1% have a Bachelor Degree	
Female share	17%	15.2%	
Work type	10% work part-time (average full-time hours worked per week 41)	7.6%% work part-time (average full-time hours worked per week 40) 	
Age group (largest %)	34.2% are 25-34 years. Median age is 37 years.	36% are 35-44 years. Median age is 37 years. 	
Earnings	weekly full-time before taxes $2,003.	weekly full-time before taxes $1,610.	

Management and Organisation Analysts
Management and Organisation Analysts assist organisations to achieve greater efficiency and solve organisational problems, and study organisational structures, methods, systems and procedures.
	2016	2013	
Level of Education 	41% have a Bachelor Degree	38% have a Bachelor Degree	
Female share	42%	40.8%	
Work type	21% work part-time (average full-time hours worked per week 44).	18% work part-time (average full-time hours worked per week 40.6).	
Age group	29.4% are 35-44 years. Median age is 42 years	36% are 35-44 years. Median age is 32.6 	
Earnings	weekly full-time before taxes $2,067.	Weekly full-time before taxes $1,515. 	

Qualification, skills and experience 

Qualifications
Given the high level of educational attainment of the workforce in the ACT (49% compared to 32% nationally) jobs requiring higher skill levels (as identified in the previous report) are likely to continue increasing. Without appropriate qualifications (certificate III/IV or higher or a skilled trade), it is possible that employment could become more difficult to obtain in the ACT.  

Employability
As indicated in the previous report, basic qualifications, specific skills and experience continues to be major factors affecting a person’s suitability for employment. For occupations recorded in the ACT Skill Shortage List for 2019, employers still most commonly noted lack of sector or occupation specific skills and experience as the reason for not filling vacant positions. This has not changed from the last report. 
With Australia experiencing a strong labour market, 44% of employers stated in The Department of Employment’s 2018 Survey of Employers’ Recruitment Experiences that recruitment was difficult over the past year (compared with 37% in 2016-17) due to a decline in the quality of applicants who lacked relevant skills/experience, professionalism and interest in the job . This occurred in almost all regions nationally, in the majority of industries and all occupation groups. 
The ACT experienced a 17.1% increase in job vacancies over the past 12 months to August 2019 driven by vacancies in both the public and private sectors. Job vacancies are a good indicator for a robust employment outcome for the ACT in the near term. 

Employment Statistics  
At August 2019, the ACT had an unemployment rate of 3.6% (down 1.1% from the previous report). At this reporting period, gender disaggregated information was not available.  For the ACT, the participation rate was 70.6% similar to the previous report (70.5%) compared to 66.2% nationally. For those between the ages of 15 – 64 the employment rate is 79.1% (compared to 74% nationally).