ABS data sheds new light on Australian employment movements

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released new data revealing that around 2 million people in Australia – or nearly 9 per cent of the population – ended a job between February 2012 and February 2013.

That number also represents around 16 per cent of all the people who were in some form of employment over that 12 month period.

According to the ABS Director of Labour Force Cassandra Gligora, around 52 per cent of those people who had ceased a job had found new employment by February 2013.

In a statement released August 21, Ms Gligora explained that people leave a job "for many reasons", either by choice or because of factors outside of their immediate control.

"The Labour Mobility survey found that four in 10 people left their last job involuntarily, and of these almost half had been working for their employer or business for less than 12 months (47 per cent)," said Ms Gligora.

"The most common reason for leaving was that the job was temporary or seasonal (58 per cent)."

Ms Gligora went on to say that of those who left their job voluntarily, the majority – around 68 per cent – had been in that position for one year or more

This news may be of interest to those in the recruitment industry, as it offers an insight into the motivations of the average Australia employee and what drives them to stay with or leave a certain position.

Earlier this month, the ABS also released its latest findings into unemployment in Australia. According to that report, Australia's unemployment remained unchanged at 5.7 per cent during July 2013.

In terms of individual states, both South Australia and Victoria experienced a large overall decrease in seasonally adjusted unemployment – falling by 12,300 in each state.

Australian recruitment organisations looking to improve client relations and productivity across the board may want to consider investing in advanced productivity solutions, such as recruitment software.

There are recruitment software solutions available that are purpose built to meet the unique needs of your industry, and that can allow you to manage business critical recruit, pay and bill functions from a single intelligent platform.