Unem​plo​yment and JobSeeker estimates (March 2023)

NSW overview  |  Headline electorate data  |  Electorate maps  |  Electorate tables  |  Interpreting the data  |  Download the data

NSW overview

The unemployment rate in NSW has been trending downwards since March 2021 (6.4%). It reached pre-pandemic levels in March 2022 (4.6%) and fell to 3.3% in March 2023, a rate not seen since the mid-1970s. 

The JobSeeker rate has been falling from a much higher level (9.0% in July 2020). It reached pre-pandemic levels in September 2022 (4.7%) and was 4.5% in March 2023.

An expanded JobSeeker series, which will replace the old series from July 2023 onwards, includes recipients who are on a zero rate of payment and those who are suspended from payment. The JobSeeker rate (expanded series) was 5.1% in March 2023.

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Headline electorate data (March 2023)

In March 2023, unemployment rates in NSW electorates ranged from 1.4% in Terrigal to 9.7% in Fairfield. In comparison, the NSW rate was 3.3%. 

JobSeeker rates (expanded series) ranged from 1.1% in Davidson to 12.4% in Barwon, compared to a NSW rate of 5.1%. 

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Electorate maps (March 2023)

In March 2023, unemployment rates were highest in the Blacktown-Parramatta (3.9%), North Coast (3.8%) and South West Sydney (4.2%) regions. JobSeeker rates were highest in the North Coast (9.1%), North West NSW (8.3%) and South West Sydney (6.5%) regions.

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Only 11 electorates recorded an annual increase in the unemployment rate. The largest declines in the unemployment rate were seen in the South Coast (-6.0 percentage points), Bega (-5.0 percentage points) and Fairfield (-4.1 percentage points) electorates. JobSeeker (expanded series) annual rate change data will be added in the December 2023 edition. 

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Interpreting the data

A person is considered to be unemployed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) if they were not employed in the reference week, and had looked for work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and were available to work. The ABS considers a person to be employed if they worked at least 1 paid hour in the reference week. The labour force is equivalent to the total number of unemployed and employed people. A person who is economically inactive is defined as being 'not in the labour force'. People not in the labour force include retirees, full-time students, stay-at-home parents and those who are permanently unable to work.

The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed expressed as a proportion of the labour force. The data presented here is for all persons aged 15 and over.

The JobSeeker rate is equal to the total population receiving either the JobSeeker Payment (people aged 22 to 64) or Youth Allowance (other) (people aged 16 to 21) as a proportion of the population aged 15-64. These unemployment benefits are available to people who are looking for work, or who are sick or injured and temporarily unable to do their normal work or study.

The overlap between people defined as unemployed by the ABS and those receiving unemployment benefits is far smaller than might be expected. While the JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance (other) are the main income support payments for unemployed people, not all recipients are unemployed and not all unemployed people receive benefits. Due to eligibility, job search and activity requirements, unemployment benefit recipients could be counted by the ABS as being either unemployed, underemployed or not in the labour force. 

​Unemployment benefits and measured unemployment

Methodology: population-weighted correspondences​​

Unemployment and JobSeeker data is available for Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s). The ABS defines SA2s as medium-sized general purpose areas designed to represent a community that interacts together socially and economically. SA2s generally have an average population of about 10,000, with a range of 3,000 to 25,000 people. Remote and regional SA2s areas generally have smaller populations than those in urban areas.

Correspondences can be used to mathematically reassign data from one geographic region to another, including state electoral divisions (SEDs). Standard correspondences have a weighting calculated based on the location of the population.

An SA2 to SED population-weighted correspondence was derived using data from an ABS Customised report provided to the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office. In this Data Brief, Small Area Labour Market data from Jobs and Skills Australia and JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance (Other) data from the Department of Social Services have been reassigned using the SA2 to SED correspondence to match the geographic regions of the 93 NSW SEDs as determined in the 2021 redistribution.

The NSW unemployment rate reported in this Data Brief is directly comparable to the unemployment estimates for the NSW electorates, and slightly different to the trend series normally reported by the ABS.

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Download the data

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