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Measurement of Unemployment in Australia

According to the Commonwealth Employment Service, 357,000 Australians were unemployed in November 1977—an increase of 283,800 since November 1973. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 314,300 Australians were unemployed in November 1977—an increase of 208,900 since November 1973. Because of this divergence, and the well-documented deficiencies of CES unemployment statistics, publication of the CES series seems likely to be terminated not long after introduction of a monthly ABS unemployment series in February 1978. This article examines the background of the present situation; examines the differences in CES and ABS methods of measuring unemployment; compares the magnitude of the resulting unemployment statistics; and examines possible explanations of the change in relative magnitude of the two sets of unemploy ment statistics. The article concludes that such empirical evidence as is available suggests the change in their relative magnitudes has been caused by a simultaneous rise in coverage by CES statistics and decline in coverage by ABS statistics; that a considerable body of empirical evidence suggests the actual level of unemploy ment is greater than indicated by either CES or ABS unemployment statistics; and that the gap between actual and measured unemployment is growing.