According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) measures, labour force participation rates for
Australians aged 15 and over rose from an annual average rate of 60.4% in 1983 to 65.5% in 2008,
and have since fallen to 64.7% in 2014.
An increase in female participation played a particular role in the overall increase, with female labour
force participation rising steadily from 43.6% in 1979 to a peak of 58.9% in 2011. Female participation in
2014 was 58.6%. The male participation rate declined from 78.4% in 1979 to 71.0% in 2014 (ABS 2015).
Australia ranks 11th out of 34 OECD countries for labour force participation (OECD 2014).