Chapter 2: Statistical snapshot

Abbreviations

A list of the abbreviations used in this report is available in the Glossary

Classification structures

Table 2.1 compares ongoing employee numbers by classification, at June 2005 and 2006. Numbers rose in all classification levels, except for APS 1 and APS 2. The drop at these levels continues a very significant long-term decline. At June 1992 APS 1–2 classifications accounted for 33.4% of all ongoing employees, but by June 2006 this had dropped to 4.5%—the first year in which this group accounted for less than 5% of total ongoing employment in the APS.

The strongest growth in proportional representation this year was in the Graduate APS classification which grew by 26.8%, and APS 3 which increased by 25.6% (compared to overall growth of 9.1%). Growth for this latter group was, in part, due to Medicare Australia coming into coverage as this agency has a very high proportion of its employees at APS 3 (59.0% compared with the APS average of 16.2%). Trainees also grew strongly, up by 19.2% on the previous year. The number of ongoing Graduate APS employees engaged during 2005–06 was 990, up from 815 the previous year. Engagement of trainees increased from 405 to 633 during the same period. Further analysis on engagements can be found later in this chapter.

As a proportion of total ongoing employment, the SES rose from 1.6% to 1.7%.

Table 2.1: Ongoing employees by classification, 2005 and 2006
	2005		2006
	Number	%	Number	%
APS 1	1050	0.9	1029	0.8
APS 2	5245	4.2	4999	3.7
APS 3	17363	14.1	21800	16.2
APS 4	26665	21.6	26748	19.9
APS 5	16826	13.6	18720	13.9
APS 6	25219	20.4	26744	19.9
EL 1	18281	14.8	20408	15.2
EL 2	9629	7.8	10506	7.8
SES	2028	1.6	2253	1.7
Trainee	375	0.3	447	0.3
Graduate APS	771	0.6	978	0.7
Total	123452	100.0	134632	100.0
Source: APSED

Women by classification

Women’s representation continued to increase at all classification levels this year. The move of Medicare Australia into coverage supported the strong growth in women’s representation at APS 3 level (up from 60.9% at June 2005 to 65.5% at June 2006).

Women’s representation at higher levels also continued to rise during 2005–06. At June 2006, women comprised 34.8% of the SES (an increase from 33.2% in 2005) and 42.2% of EL employees (up from 40.2% in 2005). In particular, there was also a substantial increase at SES Band 3 level (up from 19.8% to 24.3%).

Women still outnumber men at all classification levels up to and including APS 6, with the proportion of women falling at higher classification levels. Figure 2.7 shows the proportion of men and women at selected classifications at June 2006.

Figure 2.7: Ongoing employees by classification and sex, June 2006

Source: APSED

As discussed above, the increase in female representation at EL and SES classifications continues at a faster pace than at lower classifications. In Figure 2.8, each number is weighted using the total number of ongoing employees at June 1997 as a base.⁵ The growth of women in the EL and SES classifications has substantially outstripped their growth in representation in other classifications. Women’s representation at the APS 1–2 level has declined substantially.

Trends in women’s employment by classification are discussed in detail in Chapter 5.

Figure 2.8: Change in the number of women at selected classifications, weighted and indexed, 1997 to 2006

Source: APSED

Weighting eliminates the effects that the change in the overall size of the APS has on representation. The index is given a value of 100 at June 1997, and rises and falls proportionally with the particular group’s change in the weighted number over time.