CODE 1  Employed

Employed persons are those aged 15 years and over who met one of the following criteria 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 (employees and owner managers of incorporated or unincorporated enterprises).
• Worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (contributing family workers).
• Were employees who had a job but were not at work and were:
  • away from work for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week; or
  • away from work for more than four weeks up to the end of the reference week and
  • received pay for some or all of the four week period to the end of the reference week; or
  • away from work as a standard work or shift arrangement; or
  • on strike or locked out; or
  • on workers' compensation and expected to return to their job.
• Were owner managers who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work.

CODE 2  Unemployed

Unemployed persons are those aged 15 years 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
• were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week and could have started in the reference week if the job had been available then.

Actively looked for work includes:

• written, telephoned or applied to an employer for work;
• had an interview with an employer for work;
• answered an advertisement for a job;
• checked or registered with a Job Services Australia provider or any other employment agency;
• taken steps to purchase or start your own business;
• advertised or tendered for work; and
• contacted friends or relatives in order to obtain work.

CODE 3  Not in the labour force

Persons not in the labour force are those aged 15 years and over who were not in the categories employed or unemployed, as defined, during the reference week. They include people who undertook unpaid household duties or other voluntary work only, were retired, voluntarily inactive and those permanently unable to work.

For information about collection methods, refer to the ABS Standards for Labour Force Statistics.