CLOSING THE GAP

Australians have almost certainly been more
adversely affected by recent cyclical softness in the
labour market” (Productivity Commission, 2015).
Another important factor in the fall in the Indigenous
employment rate is the gradual cessation of Community
Development Employment Projects (CDEP), in June 2015.
During the life of the program, the ABS classified CDEP
participants as being employed. 33 Job seekers previously
eligible for CDEP are now supported into work-like
activities through jobactive and Disability Employment
Services (in urban and regional areas) and the
Community Development Programme (in remote areas),
however are no longer classified as being employed.
To get a more accurate sense of the employment gap, it
is better to focus on the non-CDEP employment rate and
how this has changed over time. This rate remained flat
from 48.2 per cent in 2008 to 48.4 per cent in 2014-15.
It is also worth noting while there has been no progress
against this target there have been some longer-term
improvements. The Indigenous employment rate was
considerably higher in 2014-15 (48.4 per cent)
than 1994 (37.6 per cent) (see Figure 13).
33 CDEP was a Commonwealth employment program in which
participants were paid CDEP wages (derived from income
support) to participate in activity or training. As CDEP was wound
down and participation declined, many of these individuals
transferred across to other employment services such as Remote
Jobs and Communities Program, where they received income
support and were then counted as unemployed. For 2014- 15
the ABS did not collect information on CDEP participation
as the number of CDEP participants was negligible.
Remoteness
Indigenous employment rates vary sharply by geography.
In 2014-15, only 35.1 per cent of all Indigenous people of
workforce age (15-64 years) in very remote areas were
employed compared with 57.5 per cent of those
living in the major cities. Most Indigenous men of
workforce age in the major cities (66.0 per cent),
inner regional areas (51.0 per cent) and outer regional
areas (51.5 per cent) were employed in 2014-15.
State and Territory
New South Wales was the only jurisdiction that
saw an improvement (albeit not significantly) in
Indigenous working age (15-64) employment rates
between 2008 (47.3 per cent) and 2014-15 (53.1
per cent) (see Figure 14). Between 2008 and 2014-
15, changes in employment rates in Victoria, South
Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital
Territory were not statistically significant.
In Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern
Territory, employment rates decreased significantly
between 2008 and 2014-15. However, interpretation of
trends in Indigenous employment in these jurisdictions
is affected by the decline in CDEP participants between
2008 and 2014-15. Between 2008 and 2014-15, there
was no statistically significant change in the non-
CDEP employment rate for these jurisdictions.
In 2014-15, the gap between Indigenous and non-
Indigenous total employment rates had decreased
since 2008 in New South Wales. The gap for New
South Wales is smaller than the gap required to
meet the trajectory point for the target in 2014-15,
Figure 13: Indigenous working age (15-64) employment rates, 1994 to 2014-15 (per cent)
60
50
48.2
48.2
53.8
45.6
47.5 48.4
40
37.6
35.5
30
29.1
Per cent
20
10
0
8.5
12.7
5.6
1.9
1994 2002 2008 2012-13 2014-15
CDEP employment
Non-CDEP employment
Total employment
Source: ABS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey 1994, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey 2002,
2008 & 2014-15, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (core component) 2012-13
•54• CLOSING THE GAP: PRIME MINISTER'S REPORT 2017