<blockquote>
  <p>Employment excludes non-salaried directors, volunteers, persons paid by commission only, and self employed persons such as consultants and contractors.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The actively trading businesses with zero employees are therefore those businesses where the staff members are drawn exclusively from that group. That may cover most one-person outfits, perhaps some family firms, groups of self-employed people, and so on. These businesses are typically formed in that way as a response to particular regulations, usually tax rules.</p>

<p>The answer is in <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8165.0Explanatory%20Notes1Jun%202010%20to%20Jun%202014?OpenDocument">the explanatory notes attached to that dataset</a>, section 56, from where the above quote is taken.  The explanatory notes are attached to that dataset to answer questions such as this. When you have questions about a particular dataset, the explanatory notes (which might also be called metadata, data descriptors, or similar), will usually have the answer, as they do in this case, and should be any enquirer's first place to look.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-05T08:30:14.230Z
I didn't see the explanatory notes button. Thanks for pointing that out and the further explanation.
Mike
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-05T08:24:51.247Z
2015-10-05T08:24:51.247Z
410 gone
<p>I'm trying to understand this Australian Bureau of Statistics <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8165.0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">release</a>, which says:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>In June 2014, 61% of actively trading businesses in Australia had no
  employees, 27% had 1-4, 10% had 5-19, 2% had 20-199, and less than 1%
  had 200 or more.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I didn't realise so many businesses didn't have employees. Why is this percentage so high?</p>

<labor-economics><economic-measurement><australia>
Why is the percentage of Australian businesses that don't have any employees so high?
Mike
# Why is the percentage of Australian businesses that don't have any employees so high?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-10-05)

I'm trying to understand this Australian Bureau of Statistics [release](http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8165.0), which says:

> In June 2014, 61% of actively trading businesses in Australia had no
> employees, 27% had 1-4, 10% had 5-19, 2% had 20-199, and less than 1%
> had 200 or more.

I didn't realise so many businesses didn't have employees. Why is this percentage so high?

**Tags:** labor-economics, economic-measurement, australia

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-10-05. Score: 11 | Accepted answer

> Employment excludes non-salaried directors, volunteers, persons paid by commission only, and self employed persons such as consultants and contractors.

The actively trading businesses with zero employees are therefore those businesses where the staff members are drawn exclusively from that group. That may cover most one-person outfits, perhaps some family firms, groups of self-employed people, and so on. These businesses are typically formed in that way as a response to particular regulations, usually tax rules.

The answer is in [the explanatory notes attached to that dataset](http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8165.0Explanatory%20Notes1Jun%202010%20to%20Jun%202014?OpenDocument), section 56, from where the above quote is taken. The explanatory notes are attached to that dataset to answer questions such as this. When you have questions about a particular dataset, the explanatory notes (which might also be called metadata, data descriptors, or similar), will usually have the answer, as they do in this case, and should be any enquirer's first place to look.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I didn't see the explanatory notes button. Thanks for pointing that out and the further explanation.  

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