For the overseas-born population, being able to find work and participate in the local economy is a very important step to settling into Australia. High employment can indicate an engaged migrant community, or perhaps a large contingent on work-sponsored visas. A high level of unemployment or low participation rate (the percentage of the population in the labour force) can indicate a community of recent migrants with difficulties adjusting to economic life in Australia, and in some cases with a reliance on government benefits.

Differences in employment status for the local overseas-born populations may be related to the age and length of time that population has been in Australia, and the reason for migration (eg. some people migrate specifically for employment, so unemployment would be expected to be low in this case).

Employment data should be looked at in conjunction with Age Structure and Qualification data for the recent arrivals.