Employment
The employment rate – the number of employed people as a proportion of the population – remains much lower among Indigenous Australians than non-Indigenous Australians. Education attainment is associated with employment outcomes, with people who have completed tertiary level education generally having better employment opportunities than those who have not completed further education after leaving school (National Skills Commission 2021). Two of the Closing the Gap targets relate to employment: increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth (15-24 years) who are in employment, education or training to 67 per cent by 2031 (Target 7), and increasing the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–64 who are employed to 62 per cent by 2031 (Target 8) – see Targets 7 and 8 in the Closing the Gap Information Repository.
In the 2021 Census, 52% (253,600) of Indigenous Australians aged 15–64 were employed. The employment rate was generally lower in more remote areas (Figure 5.3). In 2021, the employment rate for Indigenous Australians at working age was highest in Major cities at 58% and the lowest in Very remote areas at 32%.
Indigenous Australians aged 15–64 had a lower employment rate than non-Indigenous Australians (52% compared with 75%), and this was true across all age groups (Figure 5.3). The employment gap was higher for Indigenous Australians living in more remote areas (Figure 5.3).
For Indigenous Australians aged 25–64 (the target age group for the employment Closing the Gap target), the employment rate increased from 51% to 56% between 2016 and 2021, and the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous employment rates reduced from 24.7 to 22.0 percentage points.
Figure 5.3: Employment rate (people aged 15–64), by Indigenous status, 2021
Sources: Measure 2.07, Table D2.07.3 and Table D2.07.6. AIHW analysis of ABS Census of Population and Housing 2021 (ABS 2022a).
The proportion of Indigenous Australians aged 25–64 who were employed increased with each level of educational attainment: 85% of those whose highest level of education was a bachelor’s degree were employed; 72% of those with a Certificate III or IV level qualification; 45% of those with a secondary education at Year 10 to 12 level; and 24% of those with lower levels of qualification (Table 5.1).
Table 5.1: Employment rate for Indigenous Australians aged 25–64, by highest level of educational attainment and remoteness, 2021
|
Bachelor Degree Level or higher |
Advanced Diploma and Diploma Level |
Certificate III and IV Level |
Year 10 to 12 |
Certificate I & II Level |
Year 9 or below/no education attainment |
Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Major cities |
86 |
76 |
72 |
52 |
30 |
28 |
62 |
Inner regional |
84 |
76 |
73 |
48 |
32 |
28 |
58 |
Outer regional |
84 |
76 |
73 |
45 |
34 |
25 |
54 |
Remote |
85 |
80 |
75 |
37 |
46 |
20 |
46 |
Very Remote |
82 |
78 |
64 |
30 |
48 |
17 |
35 |
Australia |
85 |
76 |
72 |
45 |
34 |
24 |
56 |
Note: Total includes people for whom educational attainment was inadequately described or not stated.
Source: Measure 2.07, Table D2.07.22. AIHW analysis of ABS Census of Population and Housing 2021 (ABS 2021).
Indigenous Australians aged 25–64 who reported having any of a selected list of 10 long-term health condition had a lower employment rate than those with no long-term conditions (ranging from 17% to 53% for those with a long-term health condition, compared with 65% for those without), whereas those who needed assistance with core activities was 14% compared with 62% among those who did not need assistance.
For many Indigenous Australians, there is a conflict between family responsibilities and finding and keeping a job (Venn & Biddle 2018). A recent study found that education, disability, and having spent time in prison were the most important factors underlying labour force participation (Dinku & Hunt 2021).
Nearly 2 in 5 (38%) Indigenous Australians in remote areas who were unemployed in 2014–15 reported a lack of any jobs as a barrier to finding work, compared with 1 in 5 (22%) unemployed Indigenous Australians in non-remote areas. Among Indigenous Australians in non-remote areas who were unemployed, 1 in 3 (33%) reported not having a driver’s licence as a barrier to finding work (Table 5.2).
Table 5.2: Top 5 difficulties finding work, unemployed Indigenous Australians aged 15–64, 2014–15
Remote |
Non-remote |
---|---|
No jobs in local area or line of work 44% (5,700) |
No jobs in local area or line of work 38% (15,500) |
No jobs at all 38% (4,900) |
Don't have driver's licence 33% (13,500) |
Transport problems/distance 27% (3,500) |
Transport problems/distance 33% (13,300) |
Insufficient education, training, skills 22% (2,800) |
Insufficient education, training, skills 32% (13,000) |
Don't have driver's licence 19% (2,400) |
No jobs at all 22% (8,800) |
Source: Measure 2.07, Table D2.07.10 – AIHW and ABS analysis of National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey 2014–15.
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