Socio-economic outcome area 8

Strong economic participation and development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities

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Target 8

By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-64 who are employed to 62 per cent.

Dashboard snapshot: The data below are the most recent at the time of preparing the July 2023 report. Please go to the dashboard to access the current data.

Nationally in 2021, 55.7 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–64 years were employed (figure CtG8.1).

This is an increase from 51.0 per cent in 2016 (the baseline year).

Nationally, based on progress from the baseline, the target shows good improvement and is on track to be met. However, this assessment should be used with caution as it is based on a limited number of data points. Please see the How to interpret the data page for more information.

Figure CtG8.1 shows people aged 25 to 64 years who are employed. More details can be found within the text near this image.

The assessment below reflects progress from the baseline (improvement, worsening or no change). For the national assessment, the target outcome shows good improvement and is on track to be met.

NSW Vic Qld WA SA Tas ACT NT Aust
Assessment of progress 2016 to 2021ImprovementImprovementImprovementImprovementImprovementImprovementImprovementWorseningGood improvement and target on track to be met

right arrow improvement rectangle no change left arrow worsening not applicable as required data not available. tick good improvement and target on track to be met. circle improvement but target not on track to be met.

Note: These assessments of progress should be used with caution as they are based on a limited number of data points.

Disaggregations

By sex

Nationally in 2021, a higher proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males aged 25–64 years were employed (57.7 per cent) compared to females (53.8 per cent) (figure CtG8.2). The proportions increased by around 4 percentage points for males and around 6 percentage points for females since the 2016 baseline year.

Figure CtG8.2 shows people aged 25 to 64 years who are employed, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Australia, by sex, by year. More details can be found within the text near this image.
Data in figure CtG8.2 (%)
Sex20162021
Males54.057.7
Females48.253.8

By age group

Nationally in 2021, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were employed was similar across the 5-year age groups for people aged 25 to less than 50 years (between 57.4 to 58.8 per cent). From 50 years of age the employment rate declined with each 5-year age group, down to 41.0 per cent for people aged 60-64 years (figure CtG8.3). This follows a similar pattern to the 2016 baseline year. From 2016 to 2021, the employment rate increased for all 5-year age groups.

Figure CtG8.3 shows people aged 25 to 64 years who are employed, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Australia, by age group, by year. More details can be found within the text near this image.
Data in figure CtG8.3 (%)
Age20162021
25-29 years old50.457.4
30-34 years old51.357.6
35-39 years old52.557.8
40-44 years old54.758.6
45-49 years old54.858.8
50-54 years old52.656.0
55-59 years old48.150.9
60-64 years old36.041.0

By remoteness area

Nationally in 2021, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–64 years who were employed was highest in major cities (62.1 per cent) (figure CtG8.4). The proportions declined as remoteness increased, down to 35.0 per cent for people living in very remote areas. Since the 2016 baseline year, the employment rate increased in all areas, except for people living in very remote areas where it decreased (less than one percentage point).

Figure CtG8.4 shows people aged 25 to 64 years who are employed, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Australia, by remoteness area, by year. More details can be found within the text near this image.
Data in figure CtG8.4 (%)
Remoteness20162021
Major cities59.062.1
Inner regional51.457.6
Outer regional47.754.1
Remote44.545.5
Very remote35.635.0

By Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage (IRSD) quintile

Nationally in 2021, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–64 years who were employed was highest in the least disadvantaged socioeconomic areas of Australia (80.8 per cent) (figure CtG8.5). The proportions declined in more disadvantaged areas, down to 41.8 per cent for people living in the most disadvantaged socioeconomic areas of Australia. The proportions have increased in all socioeconomic areas since the 2016 baseline year.

Figure CtG8.5 shows people aged 25 to 64 years who are employed, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Australia, by Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage quintile, by year. More details can be found within the text near this image.
Data in figure CtG8.5 (%)
Description420162021
Most disadvantaged38.141.8
Second most disadvantaged57.262.1
Middle 20 per cent64.669.6
Second least disadvantaged71.975.1
Least disadvantaged77.580.8

By disability status

Nationally in 2021, 14.2 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–64 years with a need for assistance with core activities were employed, compared to 61.7 per cent who did not have a need for assistance (figure CtG8.6). The proportions increased by around 2 percentage points for people with a need for assistance with core activities and around 5 percentage points for persons who did not have a need for assistance, since the 2016 baseline year.

Figure CtG8.6 shows people aged 25 to 64 years who are employed, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Australia, by disability status, by year. More details can be found within the text near this image.
Data in figure CtG8.6 (%)
Description420162021
Has need for assistance with core activities12.114.2
Does not have need for assistance with core activities56.561.7
Need for assistance with core activities not stated17.212.1

By level of highest educational attainment

Nationally in 2021, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–64 years who were employed generally increased with higher educational attainment, ranging from 25.4 per cent for those who had attained Secondary Education – Years 9 and below to 87.2 per cent for those who had obtained a qualification at the Postgraduate degree level (figure CtG8.7). This follows a similar pattern to the 2016 baseline year.

Figure CtG8.7 shows people aged 25 to 64 years who are employed, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Australia, by level of highest educational attainment, by year. More details can be found within the text near this image.
Data in figure CtG8.7 (%)
Description420162021
Secondary Education - Years 9 and below25.425.4
Secondary Education - Years 10 and above46.645.4
Certificate I and II Level34.634.2
Certificate III and IV Level70.172.0
Advanced Diplima and Diploma Level73.076.1
Bachelor Degree Level82.484.8
Graduate Diploma and Gradute Certificate81.685.5
Postgraduate Degree Level85.387.2

By type of employment

Nationally in 2021, 34.0 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–64 years were employed full time (an increase of around 2 percentage points since the 2016 baseline), compared to 16.1 per cent who were employed part time (an increase of around 1 percentage point since the 2016 baseline) (table CtG8A.8). A further 5.6 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were employed and away from work (an increase of around 2 percentage points since the 2016 baseline).

Target data specifications

Target 8: Increase the proportion of people who are employed

Outcome:

Strong economic participation and development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.

Target:

By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-64 who are employed to 62 per cent.

Indicator:

The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-64 years who are employed.

Measure:

The measure is defined as:

Numerator — number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-64 years who are employed

Denominator — total number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the population aged 25-64 years

and is presented as a percentage.

Target established:

National Agreement on Closing the Gap July 2020

Latest dashboard update:

15 June 2023

Indicator type:

Target

Interpretation of change:

A high or increasing proportion is desirable. An increase from the baseline year is an improvement.

Data source:

Name: ABS Census of Population and Housing, Census Table Builder (Basic)

Frequency: Five-yearly

Documentation (links): www.abs.gov.au/census

Data provider:

Provider name: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

Provider area: Census

Baseline year:

2016

Latest reporting period:

2021

Target year:

2031

Disaggregations:

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by sex

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by remoteness area

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage (IRSD) quintile

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by disability status

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by age

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by level of education

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by type of employment

Computation:

Numerator divided by Denominator multiplied by 100

Counting rules

Data are for all Australian residents enumerated in the Census that reported having a usual residence in Australia.

Geographical variables are based on a person’s place of usual residence (on Census night).

Includes (both numerator and denominator):

  • people who were employed full-time (worked 35 hours or more), part-time, or who were employed but were away from work (did not work any hours in the week prior to Census night or did not state their number of hours worked)
  • Australian total includes Other Territories

Excludes (both numerator and denominator):

  • people for whom labour force status was ‘not stated’ or unknown or inadequately described
  • overseas visitors
  • people for whom Indigenous status was not stated. (Data on the number of people whose Indigenous status was not stated is provided for context).

Disaggregations:

Sex refers to a person’s biological characteristics. The 2021 Census allowed all respondents to select from three response options for the sex question: male, female and non-binary sex. Where a respondent has provided a male or female response and a non-binary sex response, the male or female response was used to determine a binary sex variable. Otherwise, sex was derived by a statistical process using random allocation.).

Remoteness area is classified according to the ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) using SA1 as the building block. For people with incomplete/invalid or missing address information, the ABS imputes the place of usual residence (The non-response rate at the SA1 level was 4.4 per cent in 2021.) Remoteness area disaggregations exclude ‘Migratory – Offshore – Shipping’ and ‘No usual address’. Please see the How to interpret the data page for more information.

Socioeconomic status of the locality is classified according to the ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA): Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD), using SA1 as the building block. For people with incomplete/invalid or missing address information, the ABS will impute the place of usual residence. Data are reported by IRSD quintile that are determined at the Australian level and exclude persons with unknown or unavailable SEIFA score. Some individual geographic areas were excluded from SEIFA for various reasons, such as low population or high non-response to certain Census questions. Please see the How to interpret the data page for more information.

Disability is classified according to core activity need for assistance. Data are only available for people with a profound or severe core activity limitation. Disability data sourced from the Census are based on four questions to identify need for assistance and may not be fully comparable with data from other sources. See www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4431.0.55.002 for more information. (Data for people whose ‘need for assistance with core activities’ was not stated is provided for context.)

Age is derived from a person’s date of birth. If date of birth is not stated, an age value is imputed by the ABS.

Level of education is derived from the highest level of educational attainment, whether it be a school or non-school qualification (persons with inadequately described or not stated educational attainment have been included as a category combined with no educational attainment).

Type of employment classifies employed persons as working full time (worked 35 hours or more), part time or away from work in the week prior to Census night. Persons who were employed but away from work includes persons who were employed but did not work any hours in the week prior to Census night or did not state the number of hours worked.

Extraction

Census Table Builder (Basic) – Employment, Income and Education: INGP X Main ASGS (UR) X LFSP X AGE5P

[Disaggregations: SEXP; REMOTE (UR); IRSD; ASSNP; AGE5P; HEAP; LFSP]

Data quality considerations:

All data values have been randomly adjusted using perturbation to avoid the release of confidential data. Proportions/rates calculated for small populations should be used with caution.

In 2016 and 2021 data, people who participated in Community Development Program (CDP) received income support payments directly from the government and were not considered to be in an employer/employee relationship with their provider. They were classified as not employed unless they had a non-CDP job.

Supporting indicators

Driver

  • Highest level of educational attainment
  • Long term health and disability status
  • Caring responsibilities

Contextual information

  • Employment by occupation
  • Employment by industry
  • Median equivalised gross household income
  • Median personal income
  • Labour force participation
  • Self-managed business owners
  • Progress towards parity

Material for download

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