--- title: Early insights from the second-release Census data | .id blog description: Second release data released by the ABS October 23rd marked the second release of 2016 Census data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. While about 75% of Census topics came out in June (and... image: https://blog.id.com.au/hubfs/ID-Blog-Media-2024/Census-info-spacially-pic.jpg --- [![id-Master-logo-colour-tight-crop](https://blog.id.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/id-Master-logo-colour-tight-crop.png?width=2440&height=881&name=id-Master-logo-colour-tight-crop.png) ![id-Master-logo-colour-tight-crop](https://blog.id.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/id-Master-logo-colour-tight-crop.png?width=2440&height=881&name=id-Master-logo-colour-tight-crop.png)](https://home.id.com.au) - Services - [Services for Local Government](https://home.id.com.au/services/local-government) - [Services for Industry](https://home.id.com.au/industry-services) - [Resources](https://home.id.com.au/demographic-resources) - [Case studies](https://home.id.com.au/case-studies) - [Blog](https://blog.id.com.au/) - [About](https://home.id.com.au/about-us) - [About .id (informed decisions)](https://home.id.com.au/about-us) - [Meet our team](https://home.id.com.au/about-us/meet-the-team) - [Careers](https://home.id.com.au/about-us/careers) - [.id scholarship](https://home.id.com.au/about-us/scholarship) - [Contact](https://home.id.com.au/contact-us) [BY INDUSTRY](https://home.id.com.au/#industry-services) - [Local government](https://home.id.com.au/services/local-government) - [Financial services](https://home.id.com.au/industries/financial-services) - [Utilities](https://home.id.com.au/industries/utilities) - [Education](https://home.id.com.au/industries/education) - [Retail](https://home.id.com.au/industries/retail) - [Emergency services](https://home.id.com.au/industries/emergency-services) [BY EXPERTISE](https://home.id.com.au/services/local-government#streams) - [Consulting](https://home.id.com.au/consulting-services/local-government) - [Demographics](https://home.id.com.au/services/local-government/demographics) - [Forecasting](https://home.id.com.au/forecasting/) - [Economics](https://home.id.com.au/services/local-government/economics) - [Housing](https://home.id.com.au/services/local-government/housing) - [Community views](https://home.id.com.au/community-views) [DIGITAL PLATFORM](https://home.id.com.au/services/local-government#platform) - [profile.id](https://home.id.com.au/community-profile) - [atlas.id](https://home.id.com.au/social-atlas) - [forecast.id](https://home.id.com.au/forecasting/forecast.id) - [economy.id](https://home.id.com.au/economic-profile) - [housing.id](https://home.id.com.au/housing-monitor) - [views.id](https://home.id.com.au/community-views) - [About .id (informed decisions)](https://home.id.com.au/about-us) - [Meet the team](https://home.id.com.au/about-us/meet-the-team) - [Careers](https://home.id.com.au/about-us/careers) - [.id scholarship](https://home.id.com.au/about-us/scholarship) - [Referencing .id as a source](https://home.id.com.au/about-us/referencing-and-sources) #### [BLOG](https://blog.id.com.au) # Early insights from the second-release Census data - [Population](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/population) - [Demographic analysis](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/demographic-analysis) - [Local area analysis](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/local-area-analysis) - [Population trends](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/population-trends) - [Australian census](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/australian-census) - [New Zealand population and census](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/new-zealand-population-and-census) - [Population forecasting](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/population-forecasting) - [Economic analysis](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/economic-analysis) - [Housing](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/housing) - [Community views](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/community-views) - [.id news](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/-id-news) - [Fun stuff](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/fun-stuff) - [Online tools](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/online-tools) - [Community profiles](https://content.id.com.au/community-profiles-australia) - [Social atlas](https://content.id.com.au/social-atlases-australia) - [Population forecasts](https://content.id.com.au/population-forecast-australia) - [Economic profiles](https://content.id.com.au/economic-profiles-australia) - [Housing monitors](https://housing.id.com.au/) - [Community views](https://views.id.com.au/local_governments) - [How to](https://home.id.com.au/idinsight/topic/how-to) - [Features and updates](https://home.id.com.au/new-data-and-features) ## Early insights from the second-release Census data [Glenn Capuano - Census Expert](https://blog.id.com.au/author/glenn-the-census-expert) 24 Oct, 2017 ## Second release data released by the ABS October 23rd marked the second release of 2016 Census data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. While about 75% of Census topics came out in June (and are now fully loaded into the [community profiles](https://content.id.com.au/community-profiles-australia) for those councils who are subscribed), we always have to wait a few more months for the ABS to release the remaining 25%. This is because this second release contains more complex topics which require interpretation and coding to particular categories. The second release from of Census data from the ABS includes - all topics related to employment, industry, occupation and method of travel to work - place of usual residence 1 year and 5 years ago - journey to work – origin and destination - qualifications – level and field of post-school qualification And still to come is the final release of [Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA)](https://blog.id.com.au/2013/population/demographic-trends/socio-economic-indexes-what-are-they), which is due next March. ## Early insights from the second release Here are a few of the headline figures to come out of this release; - Australia’s **unemployment rate** on Census day was 6.9%, up from 5.6% 5 years ago, and **by far the largest increase we’ve seen in a Census since 1991**, at the peak of the last recession - The **participation rate** (labour force divided by population) was 60.3%, **down** from 61.4% in 2011. This may be due to ageing **population**, but due the poorer response rate in 2016, it’s a bit hard to tell (“Not Stated” was up by about 1%) - **Youth unemployment** for 15-24 year olds stood at 14.9%, **sharply up** from 12.2% in 2011 - A **record proportion** of 22.0% of the population had a **degree or higher qualification**, an increase of 3.2%, the same increase as from 2006-2011. - 52.4% of people were **at the same address** as they were 5 years before. This was 54.8% in 2011, which means that more people are moving house now over a 5 year period (though again, a higher not stated rate has some impact). - **Public transport use** accounted for 11.3% of trips to work, up just slightly from 10.4% in 2011, while **bicycle use** remained largely unchanged at 1.0% of all trips, just over 100,000 people. - The **largest industry by employment in Australia**, by a large margin, is **Health Care and Social Assistance**, with 1.36 million people employed. Manufacturing continued to tumble, now only employing 684,000 Australians. Half of Australia’s employment growth was in Health Care and Construction, while much of the remainder was in the “Not Stated” category - **Professionals showed the largest increase** of any of the major occupation categories, up by 225,000 people, and now making up 22.2% of the workforce. But in percentage terms, it was outpaced by Community and Personal Service workers, up by 185,000 people. This group disproportionately works in Health Care so this isn’t surprising. ## Does your area reflect these trends? Of course, the nuance to these national stories emerges at the local level. So when will you be able to see how your community compares? We have now received some of the second-release datasets, and have begun processing them to appear in our tools for local government. We will get the remainder of the topics not yet released when ABS Tablebuilder is released on November 10th. These datasets are, by their nature, more complex than the 1st release topics, and will take a bit longer than the first round to load in. We are working on the first datasets now, including the ***Journey to Work*** data – we expect these to take 2-3 weeks to load in, and expect they will be available by early-December. Our plan is to have the remaining second release topics in all our tools by Christmas. This includes the remainder of 2016 Census data for the **community profile** and **social atlas** tools, along with data for the **economic profiles** (second-release data makes up 90% of the information in that tool). If your council already subscribers to our **economic profile** tool, you already have **updated modelled datasets**, which are released annually by our economic partners, NIEIR. The current year for this is 2015-16, with new data expected to be in the site around April 2018, for the 2016-17 financial year. ## Stay up-to-date Bookmark our 2016 [Census update tracker page](https://blog.id.com.au/), where we announce each new topic release as-it-happens, alongside great insights and analysis from our team of population experts. ## Questions? We want you to feel confident using these updates to understand the story of your changing community. If you’re still not sure about any of our updates, leave a comment below and we’ll be happy to clarify. Tags: [Australian census](https://blog.id.com.au/topic/australian-census) [Features and updates](https://blog.id.com.au/topic/features-and-updates) [Demographic analysis](https://blog.id.com.au/topic/demographic-analysis) [Local area analysis](https://blog.id.com.au/topic/local-area-analysis) [Population trends](https://blog.id.com.au/topic/population-trends) [Online tools](https://blog.id.com.au/topic/online-tools) ##### Glenn Capuano - Census Expert Glenn is our resident Census expert. After ten years working at the ABS, Glenn's deep knowledge of the Census has been a crucial input in the development of our community profiles. These tools help everyday people uncover the rich and important stories about our communities that are often hidden deep in the Census data. Glenn is also our most prolific blogger - if you're reading this, you've just finished reading one of his blogs. Take a quick look at the front page of our blog and you'll no doubt find more of Glenn's latest work. As a client manager, Glenn travels the country giving sought-after briefings to councils and communities (these are also great opportunities for Glenn to tend to his rankings in Geolocation games such as Munzee and Geocaching). Previous Story [Big picture: the Australia community profile](https://blog.id.com.au/2017/population/australian-census/big-picture-the-australia-community-profile/) Next Story [Tips and tricks to understanding Census data: how...](https://blog.id.com.au/2017/how-to/tips-and-tricks-to-understanding-census-data-how-to-find-a-story/) ### Related Posts [Demographic analysis](https://blog.id.com.au/topic/demographic-analysis) [![Slowing migration puts the brakes on Australia's population growth - Dec 2024 population](https://blog.id.com.au/hubfs/Case%20Study%20Migration%20Images/Demographics/Using-population-forecasts-to-project-the-health-outcomes-of-suburbs.jpg)](https://blog.id.com.au/slowing-migration-puts-the-brakes-on-australias-population-growth-dec-2024-population) 25 June, 2025 [Slowing migration puts the brakes on Australia's population growth - Dec 2024 population](https://blog.id.com.au/slowing-migration-puts-the-brakes-on-australias-population-growth-dec-2024-population) [Demographic analysis](https://blog.id.com.au/topic/demographic-analysis) [![When will the age pension be abolished?](https://blog.id.com.au/hubfs/Births%20number%201935%20to%202023.png)](https://blog.id.com.au/when-will-the-age-pension-be-abolished) 28 May, 2025 [When will the age pension be abolished?](https://blog.id.com.au/when-will-the-age-pension-be-abolished) [Housing](https://blog.id.com.au/topic/housing) [![Targeted Action: How Data Can Close the Gap in Australia’s Housing Ambitions](https://blog.id.com.au/hubfs/Webinar%20%20The%20population%20forecast%20for%20Victoria%20%20Hero.jpg)](https://blog.id.com.au/targeted-action-in-centres) 28 Apr, 2025 [Targeted Action: How Data Can Close the Gap in Australia’s Housing Ambitions](https://blog.id.com.au/targeted-action-in-centres) ### Leave a Reply [Next Story Tips and tricks to understanding Census data: how to visualise a story](https://blog.id.com.au/2017/how-to/tips-and-tricks-to-understanding-census-data-how-to-find-a-story/) [Previous Story Big picture: the Australia community profile](https://blog.id.com.au/2017/population/australian-census/big-picture-the-australia-community-profile/) ###### Other Resources [![Visit the demographic resource centre](https://hubspot-no-cache-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/320463/9f91699d-64e2-4b1a-862a-a9b326d7ace7.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/320463/9f91699d-64e2-4b1a-862a-a9b326d7ace7) [![New Call-to-Action](https://hubspot-no-cache-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/320463/c38b4439-45ab-4e1b-b8e2-e2c83dcd4f2d.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/320463/c38b4439-45ab-4e1b-b8e2-e2c83dcd4f2d) [![Living in place - Things to consider when surveying communities](https://hubspot-no-cache-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/320463/edc7cbe4-2147-4109-804c-c409a6cc4ad4.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/320463/edc7cbe4-2147-4109-804c-c409a6cc4ad4) [![New Call-to-Action](https://hubspot-no-cache-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/320463/daf7b77f-d989-4d66-964e-394afb2b297c.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/320463/daf7b77f-d989-4d66-964e-394afb2b297c) [![Living in place - learnings and applications](https://hubspot-no-cache-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/320463/d18ace05-bcc1-4478-a1b4-b01c86d003e9.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/320463/d18ace05-bcc1-4478-a1b4-b01c86d003e9) [![New Call-to-action](https://hubspot-no-cache-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/320463/afec380f-71d7-4e79-b8b0-5b952ebe12e0.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/320463/afec380f-71d7-4e79-b8b0-5b952ebe12e0) ![AoC-Australia-sm-1668562151-412x274](https://blog.id.com.au/hubfs/AoC-Australia-sm-1668562151-412x274.webp) In the spirit of reconciliation .id acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today. - [Resources](https://home.id.com.au/demographic-resources) - [Services](https://home.id.com.au/services) - [Local Government services](https://home.id.com.au/services/local-government) - [Industry services](https://home.id.com.au/services/forecasts) - [About us](https://home.id.com.au/about-us/) - [Meet the team](https://home.id.com.au/about-us/meet-the-team/) - [Careers](https://home.id.com.au/about-us/careers/) - [Case studies](https://home.id.com.au/case-studies/) - [Contact us](https://home.id.com.au/contact-us/) 10 Easey St Collingwood Australia Australian customers [+61 3 9417 2205](tel:+61%203%209417%202205) New Zealand customers freecall [0800 955 481](tel:0800%20955%20481) Email [info@id.com.au](mailto:info@id.com.au) ![ID-PEXA-W](https://blog.id.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/ID-PEXA-W.png?width=200&height=274&name=ID-PEXA-W.png) - All contents copyright 1997 – 2024 .id consulting pty ltd DISCLAIMER: While all due care has been taken to ensure that the content of this website is accurate and current, there may be errors or omissions in it and no legal responsibility is accepted for the information and opinions in this website. Please view our [Privacy Policy](https://home.id.com.au/privacy-policy/) , [Terms of use](https://home.id.com.au/terms-of-use) and [Legal Notices](https://home.id.com.au/legal-notices)