Band 8+: The chart and graph below give information about three categories of workers in Australia and the unemployment levels within those categories.

The pie chart illustrates the proportion of workers in Australia by place of birth in 2003, while the line graph shows unemployment rates among three specific groups: workers born in Australia, workers born in English -speaking countries(ESC), and workers born in non-English-speaking countries (NESC) between 1993 and 2003.

Overall, it is obvious that the majority of workers were Australian-born, while migrants from non-English-speaking countries formed the smallest proportion. In terms of unemployment, rates generally declined for all groups over the ten-year period, although people from non-English-speaking countries consistently experienced the highest unemployment.

In 2003, Australian-born workers made up the largest share of the workforce, accounting for 76%. In contrast, those born in non-English-speaking countries (NESC) represented 14%, which was almost double the proportion of workers from other English-speaking countries (ESC) at 10%. This shows that although migrant formed nearly a quarter of the workforce, most were from non-English-speaking background rather than English-speaking ones.

Turning to unemployment trends, although all three groups experienced a general decline between 1993 and 2003, their patterns differed noticeably. Workers from non-English-speaking countries had by far the highest unemployment rate at the beginning (around 8%), which was roughly two percentage points higher than Australian-born workers and about three points above those from other English-speaking countries. While their rate fell sharply over the decade, it showed slight fluctuation during the late 1990s and still remained the highest by 2003. In contrast, Australian-born workers maintained a consistently lower rate than the NESC group, and their decline was steadier. Meanwhile, migrants from other English-speaking countries recorded the lowest unemployment throughout the period, finishing at just above 3%, which was approximately one to two percentage points lower than the other two groups. This shows that despite similar downward trend, significant gaps between the groups persisted over time.