Underemployment Rate — methodology

What this metric measures

The percentage of employed people who want and are available for more hours of work than they currently have. Captures hidden labour market slack that the unemployment rate misses.

Why it matters: A distinctly Australian problem — many workers are technically employed but cannot get enough hours. Combined with unemployment, it gives the true picture of labour underutilisation.

Source & provenance

Publisher

ABS

Update frequency

monthly

Licence

CC BY 4.0

How the score is computed

The score is a 0–100 normalisation of the latest observation, compared to a baseline window. The traffic-light rating (RAG) reflects both the absolute level and the recent trend.

Direction

Lower is better

Trend window

60 months

Baseline

Last 10 years

{
  "red_min_pct_of_baseline": 110,
  "amber_max_pct_of_baseline": 110,
  "green_max_pct_of_baseline": 95
}