Definitions Of
Employed/Unemployed
Used By The ABS (October 1999)

Unemployed Persons aged 15 and over who were not employed during the reference week, and

• had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and:
  • were available for work in the reference week, or would have been available except for temporary illness (I.e. lasting for less than four weeks to the end of the reference week), or
  • were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week and would have started in the reference week if the job had been available then; or
  • were waiting to be called back to a full-time or part-time job from which they had been stood down without pay for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week (Including the whole of the reference week) for reasons other than bad weather or plant breakdown.

Employed Persons aged 15 and over who, during the reference week:

• worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind in a job or business, or on a farm (comprising employees, employers and own account workers); or
• worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (i.e. contributing family workers); or
• were employees who had a job but were not at work and were:
  • on paid leave,
  • on leave without pay for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week,
  • stood down without pay because of bad weather or plant breakdown at their place of employment for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week,
  • on strike or locked out,
  • on workers' compensation and expected to be returning to their job, or
  • receiving wages or salary while undertaking full-time study; or
• were employers, own account workers or contributing family workers who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work.