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New Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander statistics for South Australia
The results of the second national social survey of Indigenous people were released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and point to some changes since the groundbreaking original survey in 1994.
The proportion of Indigenous people (aged 15 and over) with a non-school qualification (e.g. from university, TAFE, etc.) in South Australia has more than doubled between 1994 and 2002 from one in six (15%) to one in three (33%). The proportion of Indigenous people with a certificate or diploma rose (from 12% to 30%), while those with a Bachelor degree or higher qualification remained steady at 3%.
The unemployment rate for Indigenous people (aged 15 and over) in South Australia, fell from 45% in 1994 to 20% in 2002. This change parallels the decline in the national unemployment rate (from 10% in June 1994 to 6% in December 2002).
The share of unemployed Indigenous people in South Australia who had been out of work for one year or more declined (from 59% in 1994 to 28% in 2002).
While the Community Development Employment Projects scheme (CDEP) contributed to Indigenous employment growth in South Australia over this period, the proportion of Indigenous people employed in mainstream jobs also rose (from 24% to 35%).
In South Australia the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples' incomes remains. In 2002, Indigenous people (aged 18 and over) earned 65% of the income of non-Indigenous people ($384 per week compared to $590 per week after adjusting for household size and composition).
After adjusting for the different age structures of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in South Australia, Indigenous people were:
In South Australia, over the eight years since 1994, evidence highlights stability on selected cultural indicators. In 2002:
Family and community:
In South Australia Indigenous people in 2002 were almost one and a half times more likely to experience at least one life stressor (e.g."death of family member or close friend", "serious illness or disability", or "inability to get a job") than non-Indigenous people (81% compared with 58% respectively).
There has been a decline in the proportion of Indigenous people in South Australia who reported having been arrested in the previous five years (from 29% in 1994 to 20% in 2002).
Over one-quarter (28%) of Indigenous people in South Australia were living in dwellings either owned or being purchased in 2002 (up from 15% in 1994).
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