Key Message
The Northern Territory labour market continues to remain very tight with job vacancies growing and the pool of unemployed people available for work shrinking. Within the Territory, the Greater Darwin region continues to have the strongest labour market, boosted by the buoyant resources and construction industries. Increasing numbers of people are actively participating in the workforce, with the Territory experiencing the highest quarterly workforce participation rate on record, and the Territory also reporting the lowest number of workers desiring to work additional hours.
Department of Business 3
Introduction
The Northern Territory labour market is characterised by a relatively young and skilled workforce, high participation and low employment. However, there are also marked differences between certain cohorts and within different subTerritory regions.
Regional Labour Markets
Source: Department of Employment, Australian Government.
· In the December quarter 2013, the Greater Darwin region had the strongest labour market in the Territory, reflecting robust economic activity in the region.
· The Central Australian labour market has been underperforming since the first half of 2013, primarily due to major industries within the region such as tourism, experiencing downturns.
· All regions except Greater Darwin reported unchanged unemployment rates.
· Outside the Greater Darwin region, Alice Springs experienced the lowest unemployment rate at 7.1%.
· The West Arnhem region continued to have the highest unemployment rate in the Territory at 15.5% during the December quarter 2013. Generally this region experiences a higher level of unemployment compared to other Territory regions, largely due to the lower levels of economic activity and a less diverse local economy.
It should be noted that many Territory regions consist of a small population base, which can result in volatility in labour market figures.
Regional Apprentices and Trainees
Source: Department of Business
· Comparing January 2014 to January 2013, apprentice and trainee commencements decreased in all regions.
· Completions increased in East Arnhem (from 2 to 11), but decreased in Barkly (2 to 1), West Arnhem (1 to 0), and was steady in Alice Springs and Katherine.
As there can be significant lags in reporting training data, these data may be revised in the future.
Apprentice and Trainee Commencements by Training Funding Group (January 2014)
Source: Department of Business
Apprentice and Trainee Completions by Training Funding Group(January 2014)
Source: Department of Business
Commencements
· In January 2014, there were 149 apprentice and trainee commencements in the Territory.
· Compared to the same period last year, there has been a 36.3% fall in the number of commencements, with declines spread out across most groups.
· Commencements have a natural lag in contracts being registered (up to 6 months after the commencement date) and are subject to future revisions. Furthermore, a recent change in Commonwealth incentive payments for apprentices and trainees has noticeably reduced commencements.
· Primary industry was the only group to experience a rise in commencements in January 2014 compared to January 2013.
· The groups with the largest number of commencements was Utilities (37), followed by Building and construction(22), and Automotive (21).
· In Alice Springs, the largest number of apprentice and trainee commencements was in Sales and personal service. In the Barkly and Katherine regions, there were no commencements in January 2014.
Apprentice and trainee commencements are an indicator of employment demand and employer sentiment.
Completions
· In January 2014, there were 59 apprentice and trainee completions in the Territory, an 11.3% increase compared to the same period last year.
· Similarly to the apprentice and trainee commencements, the increases and decreases of completions have not been concentrated to any specific industry.
· In January 2014, there were more completions in Building and construction (8) and Sales and personal service (8) than any other training funding group. Other groups with a large number of completions in the month include Automotive (7), Business and clerical (7), and Engineering and mining (7).
· Industries that experienced increases in completions in January 2014 include Process manufacturing (from 1 to 5), and Utilities (from 2 to 5).
· Industries that experienced large decreases in January2014 were Communications (3 to 0), Computing (2 to 0), Exceptions – cookery (3 to 1), Food processing (3 to 1), and Primary industry (2 to 1).
· In Alice Springs, the largest number of apprentice and trainee completions were in Sales and personal service. In the Barkly region there was one completion in the Building and construction group and in the Katherine region there was one completion in Engineering and mining group.
Unemployment Rate
Chart 1: Unemployment Rate (quarterly average)
Source: ABS Cat No 6202.0
· In the February quarter 2014, the Territory unemployment rate decreased by 1.0 percentage point to 3.9%, from the previous quarter’s revised figure, and is at its lowest level since August 2011.
· There were 5400 unemployed persons in the Territory in the February quarter 2014, down from 6700 in the previous quarter.
· In the February quarter 2014, the male unemployment rate in the Territory decreased by 0.9 of a percentage point to 3.9%, while the female unemployment rate decreased by 1.1 percentage points to 3.9%.
· Nationally, the male unemployment rate increased by 0.1 of a percentage point to 5.9%, while the female unemployment rate increased by 0.3 of a percentage point to 6.0% in the February quarter.
Resident Employment
Chart 2: Northern Territory Resident Employment (quarterly average)
Source: ABS Cat No 6202.0
· In the February quarter 2014, there were 131900 Territorians that were employed, an increase of 2700 from the previous quarter’s revised figure.
· Full-time employment growth was the primary driver of the rise in the quarter, increasing by 2700 to 107800 persons. Part-time employment was reasonably steady over the period at 24400 persons.
· In the February quarter 2014 in the Territory, male fulltime employment increased by 3.0% while female full-time employment increased by 1.8%.
· Since the beginning of 2013, the number of males employed in the Territory has increased at a faster pace than females (male employment up 4400 persons since January 2013), which may reflect stronger growth in traditionally male oriented industries such as Construction and Mining, while traditionally female oriented industries such as Retail trade have experienced weaker growth.
· At the national level, male employment increased by 0.2of a percentage point in the quarter, driven by a 1.1percentage point increase in parttime employment. Female employment increased by 0.1 of a percentage over the same period.
Underemployment
Source: ABS Cat No 6202.0
· An underemployed person is an employed person whose hours of work are less than 35 hours in a particular week, and were willing and available to work additional hours if offered.
· The number of underemployed persons in the Territory was unchanged at 4200 in the February quarter 2014, but has been generally rising over the past 18 months.
· The Territory underemployment rate is the lowest of the jurisdictions at 3.0% of total employed persons, signifying that compared to the rest of Australia, there are more employed people in the Territory working their desired number of hours.
Hours worked
Source: ABS Cat No 6202.0
· Average weekly hours worked per capita refers to the number of hours each employed person works each week.
· In the February quarter 2014, average weekly hours worked per capita in the Territory increased by 0.1% to 37.8 hours per week.
· Nationally, average weekly hours worked per capita also increased by 0.1% to 35.0 hours per week.
· On average, Territory workers work longer hours than nationally, which may also be a reason the Territory has the lowest underemployment rate in the nation.
Employment by Industry
Source: ABS Cat No 6291.0.55.003
· In the year to February 2014, Public administration and safety had the highest percentage increase in employment of all industries (33.2%), followed by Financial and insurance services (29.0%), and Other services (15.1%).
· Construction is one of the largest industry employers in the Territory and increased strongly (12.6%) in the year, reflecting growth associated with major construction projects and buoyant demand for housing.
· The Manufacturing industry currently employs about 4000 persons or about 3% of total employment, but is experiencing solid growth from a low base in the Territory, particularly in the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and alumina.
· Mining is the largest industry in the Territory by value of production. However, Mining only employs approximately 4% of the Territory workforce as the industry is a capital intensive industry, utilising machines instead of people to perform many tasks. In the year, Mining employment increased by 4.9%, with a number of resource projects driving industry growth.
Chart 3: Northern Territory Employment by Industry (year average to February 2014)
Source: ABS Cat No 6291.0.55.003
Resident Population
Source: ABS Cat No 3101.0
· In the June quarter 2013, the Territory’s estimated resident population increased by 0.7% to 239500 persons, compared to a 0.4% increase to 23130900 persons nationally.
· In annual terms the Territory’s resident population increased by 1.8%, the fifth highest of the jurisdictions and equal with the national annual growth rate.
· Territory population growth has been strengthening over the past two years as increased economic activity has reduced the number of people leaving the Territory.
Chart 4: Components of Territory Population Growth
Source: ABS Cat No 3101.0
· Net overseas migration to the Territory has been strengthening since 2010 and is now the largest component of population growth, the first time on record.
· In 2012-13, the most common occupations of those intending to settle in the Territory from overseas were Professionals, and Technicians and trade workers.
· Net interstate migration has improved from a net outflow of 2549 persons in 2010-11 to a net outflow of 1797persons in 2012-13.
Labour Force
· In the February quarter 2014, there were 182200 persons in the civilian population and 137300 persons in the labour force.
· Growth in the Territory labour force accelerated over 2013, reflecting the fact that more people are gaining jobs, and more people are actively looking for a job.
· Large, construction-based projects continue to create job opportunities and contribute to improved sentiment about the Territory labour market.
Chart 5: Northern Territory Labour Force and Civilian Population (quarterly average)
Source: ABS Cat No 6202.0
Labour Force Participation Rate
· In the February quarter 2014, the Territory labour force participation rate increased by 0.4 of a percentage point to 75.4% from the previous quarter’s revised figure, the highest quarterly level on record.
· The participation rate has been rising since the beginning of 2013, as confidence in the Territory employment market increases on the back of major construction-based projects, boosting jobs growth and encouraging more people to move to the Territory and to look for a job.
Chart 6: Participation Rate (quarterly average)
Source: ABS Cat No 6202.0
· The male workforce participation rate in the Territory increased by 0.8 of a percentage point to 80.2% in the February quarter 2014, the highest level since July2009.
· The Territory female workforce participation rate was unchanged at 70.2% in the February quarter 2014.
· Historically, male participation in the workforce has been higher than female participation, in large part due to a relatively higher proportion of females leaving the workforce to care for family.
· At the national level, the male workforce participation rate decreased by 0.1 of a percentage point to 71.0% in the February quarter 2014, while the female workforce participation rate was steady at 58.5%.
· Territory workforce participation rates for both males and females are significantly higher than nationally, reflecting greater confidence in the Territory economy and job prospects.