The proportion of women in the labour force in Australia is lower than in Great Britain and Canada among Commonwealth countries, and lower than in a number of other OECD countries including the United States of America and Scandinavian countries.
Women predominate in the part-time labour force.
Aged 15 years and over. Since late 1990 the unemployment rate of women has been lower than the male unemployment rate. The unemployment rate of women fell from 11.0 per cent in September 1983 to 8.3 per cent in June 1986 and was at its lowest in the past nineteen years at 6.4 per cent in December 1989. In April 1997 it was 8.5 per cent. However, women still predominate among discouraged jobseekers, i.e. in 'hidden unemployment'.