Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force in Australia

Australia: Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force was 7,532 Persons in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
7,532 Persons
Change on year
up 1.7%
World rank
14th
of 33 countries
All-time high
7,532 Persons
in 2025
All-time low
4,211 Persons
in 1979
Years of data
47
1979–2025

Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force in Australia, 1979–2025

02.0k4.0k6.0k8.0k197920022025

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Persons.

Analysis

Australia recorded 7,532 Persons for population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force in 2025. That is the highest value across all 47 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 11.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force in Australia peaked at 7,532 Persons in 2025 and was at its lowest, 4,211 Persons, in 1979.

Australia ranks 14th of 33 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 4,211 Persons 4,211 Persons 4,211 Persons 1
1980s 4,599 Persons 4,226 Persons 4,809 Persons 10
1990s 5,174 Persons 4,802 Persons 5,525 Persons 10
2000s 5,768 Persons 5,546 Persons 6,045 Persons 10
2010s 6,668 Persons 6,154 Persons 7,035 Persons 10
2020s 7,313 Persons 7,137 Persons 7,532 Persons 6

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 11 Colombia 14,521 Persons compare
  2. 12 Canada 12,002 Persons compare
  3. 13 Romania 7,750 Persons compare
  4. 15 Chile 6,269 Persons compare
  5. 16 Belgium 4,319 Persons compare
  6. 17 Greece 4,241 Persons compare

See the full ranking of 46 places →

More work & labour data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force in Australia?
Population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force in Australia was 7,532 Persons in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 7,532 Persons in 2025.
What is the lowest population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 4,211 Persons in 1979.
How does Australia rank for population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force?
Australia ranks 14th out of 33 countries with data for 2025.
Is population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/population-outside-the-labour-force-persons-outside-the-labour-force/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force
Unit
Persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
46 places, 1,266 data points, 1955–2025
Last refreshed

The infra-annual dataflow on the outside the labour force population is a subset of the infra-annual labour statistics database, which contains predominantly monthly and quarterly statistics on the outside the labour force population by age groups (15+, 15-24, 25-54, 55-64, 15-64 and 15-74 where available) and sex and associated statistical methodological information and associated statistical methodological information, for the OECD member countries and for selected other economies. The persons outside the labour force comprise all persons of working age who, during the specified reference period, were not in the labour force (that is, were not employed or unemployed). The infra-annual labour statistics compiled for all OECD member countries, are drawn from Labour Force Surveys based on definition provided by the 19th Conference of Labour Statisticians in 2013. The uniform application of these definitions across all OECD member countries results in estimates that are internationally comparable.