Key Message
The Northern Territory labour market remains one of the strongest in Australia and is being driven by the resources and construction industries, with the Greater Darwin market the strongest in the Territory. About 90% of Territory youth (15-19 years old) are either actively participating in the labour market or studying full time. The number of job vacancies provides a short term outlook for employment growth, and with the number of job vacancies increasing in the year to November 2013, Territory employment is expected to continue to increase in the short term.
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 September 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 over the past six months, primarily due to major industries within the region such as tourism, experiencing downturns.
· Katherine experienced a 0.7 of a percentage point rise in the unemployment rate to 8.8% in the September quarter 2013.
· The West Arnhem region experienced the highest unemployment rate in the Territory at 15.5% during the September 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
· In the year to October 2013, apprentice and trainee commencements decreased in all regions.
· Completions increased in Alice Springs (14%), Barkly (30% or from 10 to 13), and decreased in Darwin (4.8%), West Arnhem (71% or from 49 to 14), East Arnhem (60% or from 86 to 34) and Katherine (36%).
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 (1 January 2013 to 31 October 2013)
Source: Department of Business
Apprentice and Trainee Completions by Training Funding Group(1 January 2013 to 31 October 2013)
Source: Department of Business
Commencements
· Between 1 January and 31 October 2013, there were 2110 apprentice and trainee commencements in the Territory.
· Compared to the same period last year, there has been a 23.9% fall in the number of commencements, with declines spread out across most groups.
· Training 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.
· Arts, entertainment, sports and recreation, Communications, Exceptions – cookery, Food processing, Science, technical and other, Textiles, clothing, footwear and furnishings all experienced a rise in commencements in the year to date to October 2013.
· The area with the largest number of commencements was Community services, health and education (267), followed by Business and clerical (242), and Sales and personal services(216).
· In Alice Springs, the largest number of apprentice and trainee commencements was in Tourism and hospitality. In the Barkly and Katherine regions, Primary industry was the group with most commencements.
Apprentice and trainee commencements are an indicator of employment demand and employer sentiment.
Completions
· Between 1 January and 31 October 2013, there were 804 apprentice and trainee completions in the Territory, a 12.0% decrease 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.
· Over the same time period, there were more completions in Community services, health and education (103), and Utilities (103) than any other training funding group. Other groups with a large number of completions include Engineering and mining (86), Business and clerical (82), Sales and personal services(79), and Building and construction (78).
· Industries that experienced large percentage increases in completions include Utilities (63.5%), and Exceptions– cookery (51%).
· Industries that experienced large decreases over the first 10 months of 2013 were Process manufacturing (82.4%), Computing (69.6%), Communications (64.3%), and Transport and storage (47.3%).
· In Alice Springs, the largest number of apprentice and trainee completions in Tourism and hospitality. In the Barkly and Katherine regions, Primary industry was the group with the most completions.
Unemployment Rate
Chart 1: Unemployment Rate (quarterly average)
Source: ABS Cat No 6202.0
· In the December quarter 2013, the Territory unemployment rate decreased by 0.7 of a percentage point to 4.4%, from the previous quarter’s revised figure.
· There were 6000 unemployed persons in the Territory in the December quarter 2013, down from 7000 in the previous quarter.
· The unemployment rate in the Territory had been increasing from a low of 2.5% at the beginning of 2011 before decreasing in the latest quarter.
· In the December quarter 2013, the male unemployment rate in the Territory decreased by 0.5 of a percentage point to 4.3%, while the female unemployment rate decreased by 0.9 of a percentage point to 4.6%.
· Nationally, the male unemployment rate increased by 0.1 of a percentage point to 5.9%, while the female unemployment rate remained steady at 5.7% in the December quarter.
Resident Employment
Chart 2: Northern Territory Resident Employment (quarterly average)
Source: ABS Cat No 6202.0
· In the December quarter 2013, there were 129700 Territorians that were employed, an increase of 1800 from the previous quarter’s revised figure.
· Full-time employment growth was the primary driver of the rise in the quarter, increasing by 1700 to 105300 persons. Part-time employment increased by 100 to 24400 persons over the period.
· In the December quarter 2013 in the Territory, male fulltime employment increased by 1.7% while female full-time employment increased by 1.5%.
· Since the beginning of 2012, the number of males employed in the Territory has increased at a faster pace than females, 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 remained stable in the quarter, with a 0.4% decrease in fulltime employment offset by a 0.7% increase in parttime employment.
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 decreased by 3.0% to 3900 in the November quarter 2013, and has been generally falling over the past two years as strengthening economic activity gradually utilises underemployed workers.
· The Territory underemployment rate is the lowest of the jurisdictions at 2.9% 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 December quarter 2013, average weekly hours worked per capita in the Territory increased by 0.8% to 38.4 hours per week.
· Nationally, average weekly hours worked per capita decreased by 0.2% to 35.2 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 November 2013, Financial and insurance services had the highest percentage increase in employment of all industries (19.3%), followed by manufacturing (14.4%).
· Although growing from relatively low levels the Manufacturing industry currently employs about 4000 persons or about 3% of total employment. Manufacturing is experiencing solid growth in the Territory, particularly in the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and alumina.
· Construction is one of the largest industry employers in the Territory and increased strongly (9.3%) in the year to November 2013, reflecting growth associated with major construction projects and buoyant demand for housing.
· 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 0.5%, with a number of resource projects driving industry growth.
Chart 3: Northern Territory Employment by Industry (year average to November 2013)
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 December quarter 2013, there were 180900 persons in the civilian population and 135800 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 December quarter 2013, the Territory labour force participation rate increased by 0.1 of a percentage point to 75.1% from the previous quarter’s revised figure.
· 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 0.4 of a percentage point to 79.7% in the December quarter 2013, the highest level since October2009.
· The Territory female workforce participation rate decreased by 0.2 of a percentage point to 70.3% in the December quarter 2013.
· 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 children.
· At the national level, the male workforce participation rate decreased by 0.3 of a percentage point to 71.1% in the December quarter 2013, while the female workforce participation rate decreased by 0.2 of a percentage point to 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.