I recently wrote a blog where I made the point that the largest group attracted to greenfield developments in growth areas were younger families with parents typically aged 20-34 years. This prompted queries about the mix of housing achieved within newly developing areas.
Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. This has never been more true than in the case of the US Census of the late 1800’s, which in many ways set the wheels in motion for the development of the modern computer.
I was recently forwarded an article published on the BBC website, which outlined calls by the Conservative Government in the UK to scrap the Census in its current format. The premise of their argument is that it has become too expensive and that the data can be obtained from other sources. Having worked with Census data for many years, I’ve certainly come across this argument many times. But how true is this? Can the data be obtained elsewhere? And can the argument come down to mere dollars? Let’s have a closer look at some of the issues.
In a previous article I looked at the baby boomers, those born in the post-war baby boom, and discovered that it actually started well before the end of World War II. This article looks at the generations which came after them, commonly known as generation X and generation Y, and asks “Have we gone too far in assigning letters to generations?”
Sydney, Australia’s largest city and oldest European settlement, is also known as Australia’s world city, and the “city of cities”. It is the entry point of most new migrants to Australia, has the busiest airport in Australia, and iconic locations like the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. This post looks at Sydney’s 2011 population, how it has changed and what the future holds for Sydney.
When people ask – “How many people live in Statsville?” they expect a straight forward, unambiguous answer. If only it were that simple! Believe it or not there are several different ways to count people in places. Do you want to know how many were there on a particular day, or how many usually live there? In this blog we explain the different types of population statistics and when to use each one.
Many New Zealand councils are still up to their armpits in the 2012 Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) consultation. It’s a huge undertaking and one of the most important consultation tasks conducted by councils. I talked a little in my last blog about how much resource is put into public consultation these days, so I pose the question …
How do you know when your public consultation has been effective?
It’s fun, but also interesting and entertaining to look at what the futurists and planners had in mind for the future of transport development back in the late 50’s.
Melbourne, the second-largest city in Australia, has been rapidly growing for some time. This blog looks at the distribution of Melbourne’s population and growth, and looks at the future, as well as the question of whether Melbourne will overtake Sydney.
Talking about the characteristics of the population is what we do best at .id. However, the most basic demographic question of all is just “What is our population?”. With the recent release of Regional Population Growth (3218.0) by the ABS I just did a quick ranking to see what the biggest cities in Australia are.
The recent release of ERP data by the ABS provides us with an opportunity to explore recent population trends prior to the release of 2011 Census data in June. Earlier this week we looked at population trends in Victoria, today we turn our attention to NSW. At June 2011, NSW had a population of 7.3 million, an increase of 1.1% (or 82,150 persons) over the 2010 figure. Together, NSW and Victoria comprise 57% of the Australian population, yet the contemporary story of population growth and change in these states shows some interesting differences. While Victoria’s growth has been consistently higher than the national average in recent years, in NSW it has been consistently lower. Just what is going on here? Let’s take a look at some figures.
We recently provided an overview of the main trends in population growth and change at the national level, based on the data recently released by the ABS in Regional Population Growth (ABS Cat.no. 3218.0). These figures confirm that while population growth has generally declined from the highs recorded a few years ago, the spatial patterns emerging tell a variety of stories. This blog concentrates on population trends in Victoria, the state with the highest volume of growth (84,200 persons) in 2010-11, reaching a population of 5.62 million.
On Friday March 30th, the ABS released its annual update of population for all Local Government Areas in Australia. What does it show? Melbourne’s population continues to outgrow Sydney’s, but Perth is the fastest growing capital city in the nation. What about at the local area level?
With something like 200 councils using profile.id® over the past 15 years or so, a frequently asked question at council briefing and training sessions has been, “Can you extend profile.id® to include economic data?” These requests grew in number as Local Government’s role in economic development has grown. Quite simply, this was the inspiration to develop economy.id® – and now to extend it with an Impact Assessment model. However, getting reliable economic data for sub-State economies is a significant challenge and this blog discusses how we discovered a solution by partnering with economic brains trust, NIEIR.
To develop successful Economic Development strategies, you need to know about your local economy. You need to know its strengths, and weaknesses. You need to know where it fits in the overall competitive framework – and what role and function your economy serves.
Parramatta was Australia’s first inland European settlement, and is often referred to as Sydney’s second CBD. While you could also make this claim for a few other areas in Sydney, the data shows that the City of Parramatta does have the largest employment of any Local Government Area (LGA) in Greater Sydney, outside the City of Sydney itself. In 2006 it had the 8th largest working population of any LGA in Australia, after the 5 capital city LGAs, Gold Coast and Canberra. What else can we learn about this powerhouse economy in Western Sydney?
International migration is certainly not a new phenomenon but in recent decades the volume of people moving between countries has increased substantially. The globalisation of the world economy, as well as improving transportation and communications, are key factors behind this increase. The World Bank estimates that over 200 million people live outside their country of birth – and that’s just the official estimate. Australia and Singapore both have a long history of international migration, and potential new trends have recently gained media attention in both countries.
When does creating jobs in the city lead to more jobs in the countryside?
We recently introduced an Impact Assessment Model to our economy.id resource for local government. It shows the impact of adding (or losing) jobs in one industry sector throughout the entire supply chain. I knew this would be extremely important for councils wanting to demonstrate the full value of attracting jobs to their area, but what I hadn’t counted on, was how much I would learn about the structure of local and regional economies – especially when combining the model with other information included in economy.id.
NBN Co and the Federal Government have been raving on for a while about the Digital Economy in their “Digital Economy strategy”.
So what is it, and what’s the big deal?
When it comes to net interstate migration in Australia, all States and Territories tend to lose to Queensland, with New South Wales having the greatest loss. Victoria and New South Wales traditionally lose large numbers to other States, although the net change to and from Victoria has been relatively minor over the last ten years. Will this pattern continue in the future?
The term “generations” often gets used these days, and the difference between people of different ages is attributed to when they were born, and which letter of the alphabet has been assigned to them (X, Y etc). While there is an element of subjectivity as to how you define a generation, the “baby boomers” are a group which is very important in understanding the demographics of Australian society. Those born immediately after World War II when the birth rate was very high have had a substantial impact on Australian society, and still shape the demographics that come out of each Census.
Source: abc australia
The ever-increasing reliance on motor vehicles for personal transport is a challenge for most council areas. Extra traffic creates higher road wear, and congestion leads to increased potential for accidents and longer commute times. Then there are the environmental issues such as the use of of larger amounts of fossil fuel, carbon emissions and more. And then of course there is parking…
Overseas migration is the most volatile component of population change to the Australian population. There has been a significant variation in the net overseas migration gain to Australia over the last 30-40 years. The pattern has tended to follow economic cycles and Australia has just come through a period of unprecedented immigration gain. Now that the economic situation have changed, what assumptions are we making about future levels of migration?
Fertility trends have changed considerably in Australia over the last decade. Australia’s fertility rate had been falling steadily since the baby boom of the immediate post World War Two period. Many developed nations of the world (such as Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Korea) have low or very low fertility rates, in most cases well below the replacement level of 2.1 babies per fertile woman and notably lower than Australia. The dominant thinking of demographers was that Australia would follow this trend and could have a fertility rate in the range of 1.5 or 1.6 babies per fertile woman by 2016. However, fertility rates have increased in most parts of Australia since about 2002, which has radically challenged this perspective.
Local Government does great work consulting with its local communities. But as these communities change and become increasingly diverse, is the public consultation process keeping up with this trend?
Last week I received an email from Harvey. He wrote that he’s a regular reader of our blog and hoped we would publish a post about his new non-profit Liberty City Group. It’s objective is to gather support for building a new city in Australia’s unpopulated north. I thought – wow – this man has grand ambitions! I read his blog, passed it on to some of my colleagues and it generated a heap of discussion about the merits of the idea and the details of the one proposed by Harvey. We thought our readers might like to join in the discussion.
No, it’s not a rhetorical question from a 1960s folk song, though the answer is based in that era. It’s a question we often get asked when we make presentations to local communities around Australia. It seems many local areas had decreasing populations of 25-34 year olds in the 2001-2006 Census period. Because people aged 25-34 are a key demographic with a high participation in the workforce, this sometimes causes some angst. The usual reason suggested for the decline is a “lack of affordable housing”, and it is true that in that age range many people are looking for housing, particularly to buy their first home. While there may be different reasons in different areas, the main source of this change is actually a bit simpler.
We are living longer than ever before but there is significant controversy regarding the likelihood of continued increases in life expectancy. In general terms, survival rates (share of persons living to next year by age) have increased in all age groups leading to higher life expectancy for both men and women. How much older can we get?
The proverb ‘Curiosity killed the cat…’ is no doubt full of wisdom as proverbs are, but I frequently despair at the lack of curiosity people display. Who would discourage anybody from being curious? Being curious is the key to being creative. Not being curious is a dull way to approach life.
economy.id is a fantastic resource for helping a Local Government Area describe, explore and promote the local economy. We’ve just rolled out a set of changes to make it even better. These changes have resulted from client feedback, and also input from our economic modellers, NIEIR. Here we’ll go through the main changes and how best to make use of them.
At .id we are keen users of Census data and are eagerly anticipating the release of 2011 data in June. However, it’s not as if the ABS sits around twiddling its thumbs in non-Census years – they have an active demography program with regular releases to keep the Australian public, business and governments information of the latest trends. We use a lot of this data at .id in our products and services. What are some of the more important releases, what information do they contain, and where can I find them?
Census 2011 was conducted in August last year … when we can expect to seem some results? Now that people are starting to get back to work after the holidays, I thought it would be a good time to provide an update about all things Census.
Much has been written about the celebrated architect, engineer, designer, author, free-thinker and futurist, Buckminster Fuller. But what will probably interest .id insight readers most is the role he played in influencing modern urban design, and to a much lesser degree, automotive design!
forecast.id is a great tool for understanding how your area’s population is changing, and what are the likely future outcomes of demographic trends and housing development. Many users are unaware that forecast.id contains a comprehensive mapping section, which is a great way of visualising how population is changing within your local government area. It allows you to pinpoint areas with the greatest change, and target your local government services over the next 20 years.
…and our work in New Zealand is proving no exception
Forecasting is inevitably controversial because it specifically quantifies assumptions we make about the future, raising questions about the future that can be considered mere opinion. As we in the forecasting game say, “One thing certain about a forecast is that it will be wrong!” But there are distinct benefits in undertaking the process of forecasting because it forces us to question our assumptions and better understand our cities in the process.
The next article in our migration series looks at South Australia. Not traditionally a migrant destination, SA is becoming more diverse. This series of articles analyses the data available on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website, to look at likely changes in the makeup of the population which we will see when the Census results are out next year. Local area information is available, which is very important for planning service delivery.
The next article in our migration series looks at Queensland, the sunshine state. In recent years, Queensland has had very large population growth, particularly in the south-east. My article “Who is moving to the Gold Coast?” looks at some of the population trends here. But Queensland is also am overseas migrant destination. In our final article in this series, we analyse the data available on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website, to look at likely changes in the makeup of the population which we will see when the Census results are out next year. Local area information is available, which is very important for planning service delivery.
Australia’s population grew in the year ended June 2011 to 22,620,600 people, a growth of 320,800 for the year (1.4%). This is the lowest growth for any year since 2005-06, but it’s still relatively high in historical terms. The growth isn’t evenly spread between the states, either. The surprises from this year include Victoria having larger growth than NSW, and the ACT growing faster than Queensland!
It was a year ago this week (Dec 23rd) we posted the first article on this blog, entitled “Should I use enumerated or usual residence data?“. The blog was conceived as a way to share the information we get from our work with so many councils around Australia (over 220 at last count), and actually get some discussion going on some really interesting demographic topics. So now the blog is a year old, it’s worth having a quick look at where we’ve come from and where we’re going.
Christmas is round the corner and the shopping frenzy has begun! Coming from a traditional Buddhist family, I have never formally celebrated Christmas. The emphasis here is “formally”. In other words, I still receive gifts from family and friends (though this dwindles as you grow older), go to parties, perhaps have some turkey, etc. I’m Christmassy and all just that I don’t go to church, do the carolling bits and have a Christmas tree at home (Mum thinks it’s troublesome but I’m still advocating it because it’s pretty!) So how many in Australia actually celebrate Christmas for “the birth of Christ”?
The late 1950’s was a period of unbridled optimism and consumerism, as new products poured onto the market almost daily. The pace of change was relentless and it seemed that people were always looking for the next “big thing” to make their lives easier. One of the emerging technologies of the time was plastics. They were being seen as the panacea to all ills and they were predicted to take the place of many other existing materials.
Tasmania is not often considered when it comes to migrants coming into Australia. It is true that the majority of migrants arrive into Sydney and Melbourne, but with the very large numbers of migrants in the past 5 years, many are settling in other areas. While Tasmania only accounted for 0.8% of all migrant arrivals since 2006, there are nevertheless some interesting trends. Read on to find out about them!
In the “Additional Data” section of profile.id is the Migration section. This section contains some of the most powerful storytelling within the profile, and can explain a lot of the changes that you see in your area. The migration section tells you why the population is going up or down and where people are moving from and to. While we spend a lot of time looking at migration from overseas, migration from within Australia is just as important, and in many areas much more important.
The next article in our migration series looks at Australia’s fastest growing state, Western Australia. This series of articles analyses the data available on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website, to look at likely changes in the makeup of the population which we will see when the Census results are out next year. Local area information is available, which is very important for planning service delivery.
Shopping is no doubt one of my favourite sports (Note: I consider it a sport because after shopping for a day, my legs ache as much as jogging 4 kilometres). And reading this (refer to original article here) wasn’t all that pleasant:
“According to the study, 58.5% of respondents believe customer service has declined in the last five years, while only 17.4% say it has improved.” - By Michelle Hammond from SmartCompany
Local governments subscribe to .id tools for their own use, and also to provide the information to their communities, local businesses, investors and potential residents. In doing so, they provide links from their own website to the .id tools. The question is, where should you put the links?
Hey urban planners in OZ!… Do you want some challenges that are a bit different from managing growth? Well check out what’s happening in New Zealand.
For very different reasons, planners in the two largest cities in New Zealand (Auckland and Christchurch) have had to produce comprehensive strategic plans – in no time flat.
It all started with a couple of guys you may have heard of – Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, way back in the 1880′s. (incredibly – the companies they founded still exist in some form today, as General Electric and Westinghouse)
Back in 1991, the boundaries of the City of Sydney only included the Sydney CBD and Ultimo/Pyrmont. The residential population of the city then was 7,000 and its working population was around 190,000. Twenty years on, the City of Sydney’s boundaries have expanded. Now, the City of Sydney has a population of over 185,000, with a working population of 385,000. The resident population has more than doubled due to the huge increase in urban living in the CBD. And it’s forecast to continue growing to a population of over 245,000 by 2031. How does the council manage this fast-pace, booming city?
The next article in our migration series looks at the state of Victoria. This series of articles analyses the data available on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website, to look at likely changes in the makeup of the population which we will see when the Census results are out next year. Local area information is available, which is very important for planning service delivery.
While New South Wales had the largest number of settler arrivals between 2006 and 2011, Victoria was not far behind, with just over 220,000 settlers, 26% of the national total (remember this doesn’t include people on student visas, or most people from New Zealand, as they don’t need to be granted residency). Victoria, along with Western Australia, gets a large share of migrants relative to its population size. Who are they and where did they settle?
Forty councils and regions across Australia have now signed on to economy.id, the online economic and workforce profile. economy.id helps councils to describe, explore and promote their economy. You can see the full list on our website. economy.id is a fantastic resource for understanding the size of your local economy, how it is changing, the breakdown of key industries and characteristics of the workers in each industry. There is also a section called “Infrastructure” which can be used as a promotional tool. Read on to see how.
One of the more anticipated publications released by the ABS is Births, Australia (Cat. No. 3301.0) – click here to view publication, which is produced on an annual basis. The data contained in this publication is of great importance for the planning of children’s services such as education, and from an .id perspective it provides a detailed insight into the fertility behaviour of populations in different geographic areas across Australia and allows our forecasting team to review their assumptions about fertility. 2010 proved to be a record year for births in Australia.
We often need to produce population forecasts for future growth areas where, at the last census, few people were living but, once construction starts, the population will grow significantly over a short space of time. There are many such places: Point Cook (in Melbourne’s outer south west), Rouse Hill (in Sydney’s outer north west) and a large number of suburbs in Perth, (Southern River, Success, Piara Waters, Byford etc). Given there is only a relatively small population (if any) living in such areas to start with, how do we know what type of people migrate into these areas as they start to develop?
On 17/10/2011, The Age reported, in what seems to be an ongoing series on housing (un)affordability, that families can no longer afford to purchase housing in the inner city. See the article “Housing Costs pushing families to the fringe”. This was based on a recent study by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI). The statement:
“These household affordability differentials appear to be shaping a new urban and social form, with families and detached housing on the fringe and non-family households in inner-city and middle-ring locations” is interesting, because all our research and observation here at .id shows that this is far from a new form!
Moving from where you currently live is generally a big deal because it is typically costly and in particular it is hard to leave your local friends and family. People tend to have different propensities to migrate at different times throughout their lives. Young adults move more frequently than the middle aged; young families stay put if they can; empty nesters move to be closer to their grand children; and the elderly move only when they absolutely have to. What drives migration?
My previous article on immigration looked at the national picture of emerging settlement groups, which arises from the data available on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website. But information at the local level is also available, and very important for planning service delivery. My next few articles will each focus on a particular state, and the characteristics of recent migration in that state. To kick off, New South Wales, which had the largest number of permanent settler arrivals between 2006 and 2011 – 252,000 of them, or 30% of the national total. Who are they and where did they settle?
Most councils who subscribe to profile.id also have atlas.id. The online social atlas contains over 70 maps which allow you to see how different population groups are distributed across your LGA. But atlas.id is more than just maps. It is also the easiest way compare results for each suburb and your benchmark areas as well. Read on to find out how.
If the prototype VACTRAIN being developed in China becomes a reality, aeroplane speeds (or more) in train travel may become commonplace, making possible travel from Melbourne to Sydney in less than an hour, or even Sydney to Perth in not much longer….
The Fleurieu Peninsula is located south of Adelaide, separated from the state capital by the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. Australia’s longest river, the Murray, ends its journey here. Traditionally, the Fleurieu Peninsula has played a role as a holiday and retirement destination, but towns in the north are increasingly becoming part of Adelaide’s commuting belt. With the recent addition of Victor Harbor to the .id community (view profile page here), we now have online profiles for the three municipalities that make up the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia (the other two are Yankalilla and Alexandrina). What are the characteristics of this interesting part of South Australia?
At .id, in our attempts to understand the complexities of a city, we often use reference frameworks to categorise places. We typically ask ourselves the question, “What is the role and function of this place?”, followed by the subsequent question, “… and how is this changing over time?”. One useful frame of reference is to understand the lifecycle that individuals, households and indeed suburbs follow.
The 2006 Census showed that about 4.4 million Australians were born overseas (22% of the population). In the last 5 years, we have had very high overseas migration, and everyone is now awaiting the 2011 Census results to see how the make-up of Australia has changed. My recent “Crystal Ball Gazing” article gives 10 predictions about the Census results. Many of those predictions aren’t outright guesses, but are based on some hard evidence we already have. The total population growth (#2) and the origin of migrants (#5) are among these.
So, before the Census data become available, it’s worth having a look at where these migrants are coming from, which state they’re going to and how they are changing the cultural makeup of Australian society.
Would 10 million people in Australia live in a caravan park? That’s right, about 50% of the total population. If so, we’d certainly need more caravan parks.
Income data is one of the most important indicators of socio-economic status. One of the most useful analysis tools in profile.id (and also used in economy.id) are income quartiles. They enable you to compare incomes (or housing payments) over time, to see whether they are increasing or decreasing in your area relative to a benchmark. Though relatively simple to calculate and even simpler to use, many users of .id’s community profiles aren’t aware that they are available. Read on to see how to use quartiles.
In a class I attended few days back, my tutor gave us a handout about unpaid work in Australia taken from 1997 statistics collated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The abstract, which I sussed out from Google after class, read (For the full media release, click here):
“The value of unpaid work – 91 per cent of it unpaid household work – was about $261 billion in 1997, equivalent to about 48 per cent of Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP)… Unpaid household work contributed $237 billion (or 91 per cent) to the total value of unpaid work in 1997. Females accounted for 65 per cent of the value of unpaid household work.” – Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2000, Media Release
Spatial Planning has a long tradition in the northern hemisphere; and it’s likely to be widely adopted by local government in New Zealand – with Auckland Council about to publish its first Spatial Plan.
The Western Riverina region, centred on Griffith, in south-west NSW, recently subscribed to economy.id, enabling them to track the progress of their local economy over time, and understand the characteristics of the workers in each industry. What can we learn about their economy?
The Hills Shire Council, in North-West Sydney, have recently subscribed to economy.id, our online economic profile. This profile shows the size and makeup of the economy and the workforce in The Hills, and how they are changing over time. This Hills Shire (formerly knows as Baulkham Hills Shire) is one of Sydney’s largest growth areas – read on to see what economy.id shows about their growth.
Australian houses are getting bigger. In fact, despite falling average household size during the same period, the average Australian new home is over 40% bigger than those built just 25 years ago. This problem is not only Australian, and a University in the UK, the University of Hertfordshire, is taking a stand by designing a fully liveable house that takes up just nine square metres of space.
The Land Values Research Group, an economic blog which looks at things like monetary policy, taxation and housing investment, recently published an interesting article, which said that dwelling turnover rate is at a 16 year low. It shows that sales of dwellings across Australia are at their lowest rate since 1995. In 1995, house prices were depressed and didn’t start to rise until about 1998, which was the beginning of the enormous rise in house values that we’ve seen over the past decade or so. What does Census data show about the change to this point and what demographic impacts it may have?
Well the Census has been done, and we’ve had a lot of interest in why we’re excited about the 2011 Census and what it might show.
So here are some predictions, not official .id forecasts, but just my own opinions, of what the results of the recent 2011 Census will show. I will revisit them when the data is released and see how accurate or completely wrong I was!
In my short time in New Zealand, I have observed some concern about Census data being ‘out-of-date’, with that concern being fuelled by it now being delayed to 2013. However, I believe the 2006 Census data is alive and well! There is in fact plenty more work to do analysing the existing Census data (1996, 2001 & 2006) to better understand our cities and places; and to use it to raise questions and issues in anticipation of receiving the next round of Census data some time in 2014. Here’s an example, simply using 2006 Census data…
.id is pleased to welcome the City of Hawkesbury, population 64,030, to the .id community! With the addition of Hawkesbury, all councils in Western Sydney now subscribe to one or more .id products. The Hawkesbury Community Profile and Hawkesbury Social Atlas have just gone online.
Read on for more information about Hawkesbury.
The 2011 Census is over as far as filling in the forms are concerned. Now the ABS is in full swing collecting those forms and then processing the data, and then it will be our turn, converting that data into knowledge and updating all of our Census based websites. So what new output can you expect to see from the 2011 Census?
As the “Census fever” dies down and everyone is patiently looking forward to the results of 2011 Census (which will be released in June 2012), let us take a quick look at where 2006 Census has brought us.
*Please note that unless otherwise stated, figures were taken from the 2006 and 2001 Censuses.
Well the day is finally here! The one day every 5 years we get to fill in our Census forms and contribute to the statistical picture of the nation for the next 5 years. Whether you’re submitting your form by eCensus or the regular paper form, whether you’re at home, staying at another house or a Non-Private Dwelling on Census night, the information you provide will help shape Australia into the future.
As you sit down to fill in your form, think about your answers. Answer truthfully remembering that whatever you put here will represent you statistically for the next 5 years worth (and if you are marking the time capsule box to retain your record in the National Archives, much longer than that).
But Census is a bit like Quantum Physics – the measurement can cause changes in the output! Even with everyone filling in their Census accurately, there are some things about the day, and time of year, which can affect the Census results.
Being an Arts student who barely turned 21, statistics and numbers can be mindboggling – worse still, intimidating. I never thought one day I’d be working with a spatial and demographic analysis company like .id. When I applied for the job, I honestly didn’t even know what ‘spatial analysis’ was. Sounded like a sophisticated way of saying ‘geography’. But in the short period that I’ve worked here (here comes the cliché but earnest part), I learnt a lot about why these (horrendous) numbers matter to our society. And why I think everyone should be excited about the census. On a sadistic (and of course, joking) note, don’t you feel happy that 30minutes of your time filling in the census form would torture statisticians and demographers for the next 5 years to translate them into meaningful information for our use?
The 2011 Census, like the 2006 and 2001 Census before, gives respondents the opportunity to have their details kept for 99 years with the National Archives of Australia to be released in the 22nd century. Read on to find out how you can be a part of this great project and provide a resource for future generations.
The Inca Census and the Quipu …
On the .id website homepage, (www.id.com.au) there is a small icon in the top right corner labelled “client login”, behind which hides a wealth of features for subscribing councils.
The 2011 Census is just two weeks away. At .id, we deal with Census data every day, and both ourselves and our clients love the demographic stories it can tell about each suburb and town in Australia. There are many reasons to get excited about the 2011 Census because the magnitude of demographic change in the last five years is significant. Here are a few of the many questions on topical issues that the Census will answer …
For the 2011 Census, the ABS is promoting and recommending the eCensus – the option for all households to complete a Census form on the Internet. eCensus was offered in 2006 but not heavily promoted. We look at how this works and the benefits of doing it this way, and a little of the technology which sits behind it.
A common demographic stereotype these days is that suburban empty nesters, whose children have finally left home, are downsizing into the inner parts of our cities, particularly being attracted to large apartment developments such as Docklands in Melbourne or Darling Harbour in Sydney. This leads to articles such as Domain’s “Downsizers feeling the squeeze” about the price expectations of empty nesters moving from the suburbs. But how realistic is this? For the most part, our inner cities are the domain of young people, so what does Census data show about where those over 65 are moving, and who is living in those inner city apartments?
Australia is gearing up to run the 2011 Census next month. Every 5 years Australia conducts a Census, which is a fantastic data resource, with a wealth of information for very small areas on the people that live there, their families and dwellings. At .id we put together a lot of information from Census in a very user friendly format, allowing our users to tell the demographic story of their area. As you are filling in your Census form on the 9th of August, you may wonder who decides which questions will be on it?
The Census is a massive undertaking every 5 years, which provides a wealth of information for all levels of government and private sector organisations. There are somewhere in the vicinity of 40,000 people involved in running the Census, and when you sit down to fill in your Census form on August 9th, it’s worth reflecting on the huge organisational effort it take to get it to you, and then process the data. As you’d imagine, it’s quite a job to make sure that everyone in Australia gets counted on Census night.
The publication Migration, Australia (ABS Cat. No. 3412.0) is an annual release by the ABS. It provides more detailed information about the characteristics of migrants (both overseas and interstate) than is available in other non-Census demographic releases such as Australian Demographic Statistics. A recent article published in The Age in response to the latest release of data created a storm amongst its readers when it was reported that the Asian born population in Australian would soon overtake the European born. We examine the facts in this blog.
In a recent blog we looked at employment self-containment, which is a measure that looks at the proportion of residents who work locally. Self-sufficiency is the opposite side of the coin. It looks at what proportion of local jobs are filled by local residents. If that makes any sense to you, you’re doing better than most! While self-containment is usually an important measure for suburban councils with less jobs than residents, inner urban councils, and more affluent areas are also interested in self-sufficiency.
Modern day urban planners face the challenges of a growing population, catering for families, singles and ageing residents, increased numbers of tourists and much more. They need to establish areas for residential housing, mixed with business zones, schools and ample recreation facilities.
Self-containment of employment and self-sufficiency of employment are two terms which are often used in Local Government, but they have varying definitions from place to place, and their usefulness also varies. The new, improved version of economy.id which was recently launched for .id’s 31 subscribing councils uses these terms explicitly, where the old version didn’t, so it’s worthwhile having a look at them and what they can do for you. This article will focus on self-containment of employed residents.
For much of the past decade, population growth in Western Australia (WA) has been above the national average. This has been particularly the case since 2006, largely driven by the increased labour demands of the mining industry. Over the period 2005-2010, annual population growth in Western Australia averaged 2.6%, compared to 1.8% for Australia. In 2009-2010, the population growth rate in WA was still the highest in the country (2.2%), representing an increase of just under 50,000 people. While much of the focus is on WA’s rapid growth as a state, geographers are well aware that spatial analysis at smaller levels of geography often reveals a different picture.
The ABS is moving from the concept of “Capital City Statistical Division” to “Greater Capital City Statistical Areas”, as part of the new geography – the ASGS. While this may just seem like a bit of jargon, it’s actually got quite a significant impact – partly because a lot more ABS collections produce data at this level, and partly because the capital city is just more visible than other areas. This is Part 5 in our series about what the new ABS geography looks like and how it will affect you.
The 2006 Census was the first to ask questions relating to unpaid work in Australia, particularly child care, assistance to people with a disability, and volunteering. The question on volunteering was fairly broad, just asking whether a person had volunteered for an organisation or group in the last 12 months, nothing about length or regularity of volunteering. But it can give us a bit of insight into a sector of the economy often forgotten but very important to local government. The 2011 Census will give us a time series on this.
Residents of Launceston are younger than the Tasmanian and Australian average, but the ageing of the baby boomers is the dominant population trend. The area is relatively low income but with an increasing high income population, and it attracts people into the area from across Northern Tasmania, and from interstate, particularly from New South Wales.
Western Australia is often quoted as the “powerhouse” of the Australian economy, due to its huge mining wealth. From gold in the Kalgoorlie area, to the Pilbara’s iron ore, Argyle diamonds, Collie’s coal, natural gas in the north-west shelf as well as, nickel, magnesium, aluminium and lead, WA has been blessed with natural resources. But what impact do they have on the state’s economy, and is there more to the WA economy than just mining? economy.id can provide some insights.
Back in September 2009, it was revealed that Far North Queensland had the highest unemployment rate in the country. The Cairns Regional Council decided to act and immediately established an Economic Development Unit to identify the issues and work on generating programs to grow the economy.
Two weeks ago saw the release of the Commonwealth Government’s Sustainable Population Strategy for Australia. The impetus behind this strategy came from the population and overseas migration debate that occurred during early 2010. What does it say about Australia’s future? Not as much as it could have.
One of the most important bits of economic information a council can have is about employment. However there are different ways of measuring employment and it can be confusing figuring out which one to use.This article is designed to help demystify them all and give you an idea of which ones to use when, and what their limitations are.
The increase in the Australian birth rate since 2002 is well documented, and was largely unexpected, as most of us expected the trend towards smaller families and more childless couples to continue for the foreseeable future, as has happened in places like Italy and Japan, which have rapidly ageing populations.
There are probably a number of reasons for the upswing, but the most common suggestion we hear from our clients is that it has to do with the introduction of the “baby bonus”, causing many younger people to have children for financial reward. While it is possible that some people may be doing this, the evidence shows it is clearly not a major impact on the birth rate.
Picture: David Caird Herald Sun
Which parts of Australia roared loudest in the roaring 20s? Thanks to the ABS kindly publishing old Australian year books on their website, we can see how Australia’s population was distributed in the long lost past.
The ABS is introducing a new geographic classification, which means the geography for which statistics are generated from a wide variety of collections, including the Census, is going to change radically. This is Part 4 in our series about what the new geography looks like and how it will affect you.
