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December Quarter 2024
Released 11:00am Friday, 28 March 2025
Small Area Labour Markets (SALM) contains data for Statistical Area Level 2s (SA2s) and Local Government Areas (LGAs) - for more information on SA2s and LGAs please read the geography section of the SALM methodology.
The March quarter 2025 issue of SALM is expected to be released in June 2025.
As SALM data are modelled estimates, particular care should be taken when interpreting the data. We recommend users read the SALM methodology, and the guidance on this page, before examining the data.
Labour market developments at the SA2 level
Note: The analysis in this section only includes those SA2s for which data are available for both the December quarters 2023 and 2024. Please note that, due to breaks in series because of the shift to the 2021 ASGS in the September quarter 2023, there are no smoothed data for the December quarter 2023 for 293 SA2s.
Around a third (31.5%) of SA2s recorded a decrease in their smoothed unemployment rate over the year to the December quarter 2024, down from 49.2% of SA2s over the year to the December quarter 2023.
Chart 1: Proportion of SA2s by annual change in unemployment rate by state/territory
| Decrease | No Change | Increase | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NT | 51.6 | 4.8 | 43.5 |
| WA | 48.9 | 8.7 | 42.5 |
| ACT | 41.7 | 7.4 | 50.9 |
| QLD | 37.3 | 6 | 56.7 |
| TAS | 36.5 | 11.5 | 52.1 |
| SA | 36 | 8.1 | 55.9 |
| Australia | 31.5 | 6.2 | 62.3 |
| VIC | 22.9 | 5.2 | 71.8 |
| NSW | 17.8 | 4.4 | 77.8 |
| Rest of State Areas | 35.2 | 6.4 | 58.4 |
| Capital Cities | 28.6 | 6.1 | 65.3 |
There was considerable disparity in labour market conditions across the states and territories over the year to the December quarter 2024. For instance, as shown in Chart 1, above, more than half (51.6%) of SA2s in the Northern Territory recorded a fall in their unemployment rate, while more than three-quarters (77.8%) of SA2s in New South Wales recorded an increase in their unemployment rate over the period.
- A higher proportion (35.2%) of SA2s in rest of state areas recorded a decrease in their unemployment rate, compared with those in capital cities (28.6%).
In the December quarter 2024, almost three-quarters of SA2s (74.7%) recorded an unemployment rate of less than 5%, down from 78.4% in the December quarter 2023, while 4.1% of SA2s recorded an unemployment rate of 10% or more, up from 3.7% recorded a year ago.
Chart 2: Number of SA2s by unemployment rate
| UER | Dec-23 | Dec-24 |
|---|---|---|
| 0.0 to 1.9 | 436 | 350 |
| 2.0 to 4.9 | 1165 | 1177 |
| 5.0 to 6.9 | 235 | 285 |
| 7.0 to 9.9 | 132 | 148 |
| 10.0 to 14.9 | 48 | 50 |
| 15.0 or higher | 27 | 33 |
| Total | 2043 | 2043 |
As illustrated in Chart 2, above, the number of SA2s with an unemployment rate of less than 5% decreased over the year, from 1,601 in the December quarter 2023, to 1,527 in the December quarter 2024. At the same time, the number of SA2s with an unemployment rate of 10% or more increased, from 75 in the December quarter 2023, to 83 in the December quarter 2024.
Changes to mutual obligation requirements in some areas
Mutual obligation requirements are tasks and activities that people agree to undertake while they are receiving certain types of income support, including the JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance (other). From time-to-time, and for a range of reasons, these requirements can be suspended. During the September quarter 2021, for example, mutual obligation requirements were temporarily paused in areas affected by the Delta COVID-19 variant and associated lockdowns. Similarly, mutual obligation requirements may also be suspended in regions that are affected by natural disasters or other major disruptive events.
The suspension of mutual obligation requirements can have an impact on the SALM data. This is because the ABS only considers someone to be unemployed if they are actively looking for work. When mutual obligation requirements are suspended, it is possible that some job seekers may not have undertaken the job search that they normally would have, in which case they would be classified as not in the labour force rather than unemployed.
For more information on mutual obligation requirements, please see the Services Australia website.
Using SALM data - with caution
When using and interpreting SALM data
- Be aware movements may reflect statistical volatility rather than underlying changes in the labour market
- Always use the latest SALM publication
- Where possible, use year-on-year comparisons
- Where possible, use the smoothed estimates
- Be aware that SALM smoothed estimates lag changes in labour market conditions
- Do not derive employment estimates
- Use other data sources in addition to SALM
SALM data can be volatile
Unemployment and unemployment rate estimates at the SA2 and LGA level can be volatile. This is especially the case for SA2s and LGAs that are located within a Statistical Area Level 4 where the ABS Labour Force Survey (LFS) data are also highly volatile. SALM users should take particular care where:
- There are large movements in SALM data
- SA2s and LGAs have a small labour force (less than 1,000)
Always use the latest SALM publication, even for earlier periods
Always use the current SALM publication, as SALM data, even for earlier periods, can be revised.
The ABS rebenchmarks its LFS estimates on a quarterly basis to ensure that they are based on the most up-to-date population information. These revisions are reflected in the latest SALM estimates.
When new Census benchmarks become available, SALM estimates are revised back a number of years to reflect these new benchmarks.
Where possible, use year-on-year comparisons
Quarterly movements in the SALM data may not reflect actual changes in the labour market. We recommend considering year-on-year comparisons in the data.
Where possible, use the smoothed estimates
We recommend that SALM users analyse the smoothed SALM data, given the high degree of volatility that is inherent in small area estimates.
SALM smoothed estimates lag changes in labour market conditions
The smoothed SALM series is created by applying an average to four quarters of unsmoothed data. This means that changes in the smoothed SALM series will lag actual changes in labour market conditions.
While the unsmoothed data are likely to be more responsive to changes in labour market conditions, they are also subject to high levels of statistical variability.
Interpret the unsmoothed SALM series with caution. Even large movements could reflect statistical variability rather than actual changes in labour market conditions.
Do not derive employment estimates
It is not appropriate to derive employment from the figures in SALM. See the SALM Methodology page for more details.
Use other data sources in addition to SALM
We recommend that users also consider other sources of information at the small area level. This is particularly the case for SA2s exhibiting high levels of volatility. Other useful sources of data include:
SALM methodology
SALM presents estimates based on the Structure Preserving Estimation (SPREE) methodology. SPREE enables the generation of small area unemployment, unemployment rate and labour force estimates.
Visit the SALM methodology page to find out more about the methodology, source data, and geographical classification that underpin SALM.
Downloads
PDF publication
The PDF version of SALM is a print-friendly document containing the key information for the current quarter, SA2 and LGA data tables as well as explanatory notes.
Small Area Labour Markets - December quarter 2024
SA2 Data Tables
Smoothed SALM estimates at the SA2 level are available for download in Microsoft Excel or comma-separated values format.
SALM Smoothed SA2 Datafiles (ASGS 2021) - December quarter 2024
LGA Data Tables
Smoothed SALM estimates at the LGA level are available for download in Microsoft Excel or comma-separated values format below.
SALM Smoothed LGA Datafiles (ASGS 2023) - December quarter 2024
Australian, State/Territory and Greater Capital City Statistical Area totals
Estimates for Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, states/territories and Australia can be found in the ABS' Labour Force, Detailed publication. The data in Table 16b of this publication are 12-month averages of direct survey estimates and are comparable with the smoothed SALM estimates. Note that the Australian and state/territory figures will not match the headline seasonally adjusted data released by the ABS each month.