Local Employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples by Local Government Area in the Northern Territory: Red Dirt Employment and Income

Abstract

Using place of usual residence and place of work data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011 Census, we present the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders employed locally and estimate the average total income that is associated with this employment by Local Government Area (LGA), industry and subsector. Northern Territory Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders make significant local contributions to their LGA economies through employment. We develop a new measure, the Local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' Employment Coefficient (LAPEC), which calculates the relative employment utilisation from the working age population. A range of remote LGAs have relatively high LAPECs, unlike Katherine and Alice Springs, and less so, Darwin. Whilst Mining only contributes two per cent to employment income, other mining related benefits help create jobs. For these reasons remote employment policy should be considered within a sui generis regional context on a case-by-case basis.