Employment & GDP (21230) — Technical Specification
This page sets out the methodology of Employment & GDP (21230): its inputs and baselines, the construction of its two components and of the node reading, the ranking basis, the certification record and the data schedule. Where any prior research document conflicts with the figures below, the certified figures on this page are authoritative.
Inputs
| Input | Series | Source | μ | σ | N | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employed share of the labour force | 542 | ABS 6202.0 | 94.8722% | 0.9113 | 60 | 0.5 in 21231 |
| Job vacancy rate | 413 | ABS 6354.0, 6150.0.55.003 | 1.7672% | 0.5814 | 60 | 0.5 in 21231 |
| GDP per capita, growth over the year | 543 | ABS 5206.0 | 0.8941% | 2.0652 | 60 | 1.0 in 21235 |
Series 542 is 100 minus the unemployment rate (series 391, ABS 6202.0 Table 1, A84423050A, monthly, seasonally adjusted), read at the final month of each quarter. Series 413 is job vacancies (ABS 6354.0, A590698F) as a percentage of filled jobs (ABS 6150.0.55.003, A85389467J), both seasonally adjusted, quarterly. Series 543 is the four-quarter percentage change in GDP per capita (series 389, ABS 5206.0 Table 1, A2304404C, chain volume measures, seasonally adjusted).
All inputs are ABS sovereign sources. Every baseline is the platform anchor, March 2011 to December 2025 (N = 60, sample standard deviation). The labour force participation rate (series 392, ABS 6202.0 A84423051C; 67.01 per cent in June 2026) is reported on the Labour Market Tightness (21231) page as context and is not an input: it correlates 0.94 with time over 1978 to 2026 and measures labour supply rather than scarcity. The ABS 6202.0 collection transition (April to August 2026) is disclosed; ABS states the headline unemployment rate is comparable across it.
Construction
Every input reads higher as stronger, so no polarity inversion is applied. The node is a composite of two component nodes at equal weight (0.5 each), composition level 1. A quarter is read only when it has ended and each input’s final period for the quarter is published. Missing observations are carried as NIL RETURN, never estimated.
Ranking basis
Positions are empirical percentile ranks: (quarters below the reading) ÷ (n − 1) × 100. The node ranks against quarters in which both components are present and each has all of its own inputs: September 1994 to June 2026, excluding the August 2008 to August 2009 suspension of the ABS job vacancy survey, n = 123. Labour Market Tightness (21231) ranks on the same 123 quarters; Growth per Person (21235) on 208 quarters from September 1974. Over the anchor window the two components correlate at 0.28.
Certification record
| Node | Reference period | Reading | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment & GDP (21230) | Q2 2026 | +0.2476σ | 84.4 of 123 | Certified 4 Oct 2026 — current |
| Labour Market Tightness (21231) | Q2 2026 | +0.5983σ | 83.6 of 123 | Certified 4 Oct 2026 — current |
| Growth per Person (21235) | Q2 2026 | −0.1030σ | 31.4 of 208 | Certified 4 Oct 2026 — current |
Terminal observations, June quarter 2026
| Input | Value | Z |
|---|---|---|
| Employed share of the labour force | 95.5685% (unemployment 4.4315%) | +0.7641σ |
| Job vacancy rate | 2.0186% | +0.4325σ |
| GDP per capita, growth over the year | +0.6814% | −0.1030σ |
Role in the 21200 Series
The node carries a weight of 0.15 in the APN Aggregate Macro-Volatility Index™ (21200), certified at +0.8481σ for the March quarter 2026, the latest quarter in which all nine components are available. It enters with higher meaning a stronger labour market and growth.
The Employment & GDP family
The node heads nine nodes: employment (21231–21234) and GDP and productivity (21235–21239). Each is certified against the same 2011–2025 anchor; longer histories extend only the ranking population. Only 21231 and 21235 compose into 21230; the others are read in their own right.
Data schedule
The September quarter 2026 reading requires the ABS Labour Force September 2026 release (15 October 2026), the Labour Account September quarter (early December 2026, the vacancy rate’s denominator) and the National Accounts September quarter (2 December 2026). Certified rows are frozen historical records. The APN Academy distillation suite for this node carries references A-261005-C21230.1 through A-261005-C21230.6.
