Chapter 2: Statistical snapshot

Length of service

At June 2003, the median length of service for ongoing employees was eight years. This was a reduction from nine years at June 2002, caused mainly by the continued increase in engagements into the APS in recent years. Men have a median length of service of 10 years, which is considerably longer than the six years for women. Figure 2.13 shows the profile of length of service over the 10 years to 2003.

The rise in the number of staff with fewer than five years service, from 24,234 at June 1998 to 47,778 in 2003 reflects the increase in engagements for the past five to six years. As a proportion of total ongoing staff, this group’s representation has risen from 22.4% to 39.8% between 1998 and 2003.

In contrast, the number of staff with between five and 10 years service continued the decline that has been reported in previous years, although the decline levelled somewhat this year.