Linking population growth with productivity and labour participation is problematic, just one of many questionable assumptions made in the Intergenerational Report.
Gemma Arterton and Dagenham veterans protest outside parliament.
Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA
News that the West End musical Made in Dagenham will close in April is disappointing on two fronts. Ignore for a moment what it says about the viability of new theatre productions in the capital, and consider…
Finding a job can be hard work – luckily, knowing which unemployment figures to pay attention to is much easier.
AAP Image/Joel Carrett
Queensland unemployment recently plummeted – or did it? Whether you’re a Queenslander getting ready to vote in the January 31 state election, or simply someone interested in employment trends in Australia…
Australia’s agricultural sector stands to gain from recent Asian free trade deals, but where will it leave workers?
Dan Peled/AAP
The Coalition government has assured the Australian electorate it will not proceed with any major industrial relations reforms until it has secured a mandate to do so. But this has not stopped the government…
Hurrah! But wait till you get to the office.
aluedt
The expansion of higher education in the UK has been driven by a political desire to increase economic growth and to promote social mobility at the same time by drawing more graduates from a larger pool…
A vigil to mark anniversary of the Rana Plaza building collapse.
Abir Abdullah/EPA
When Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, was speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January this year, she called on business leaders and industry captains to change the dialogue from “what…
Counting your blessings. A worker at a chocolate factory in Germany.
Jan Woitas/EPA
Germany’s strategy for export-led growth has set the Eurozone up for a fall. Plans to introduce minimum wages in 2015 might be too little too late for European countries locked in a futile game of beggar-thy-workforce…
Nick Clegg launching a work coach scheme for young people in May.
Steve Parsons/PA Wire
When the Youth Contract was launched in 2012, it was described by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg as “a major moment for Britain’s unemployed young people”. With an overall budget of £1bn, the plan…
Should universities be held responsible for training too many graduates for too few jobs in fields such as dentistry?
Flickr/University of Michigan
One criticism of Australian universities is that they indulge in oversupplying graduates in certain fields such as dentistry and journalism. But whose responsibility is it to set enrolment targets which…
John Van Reenen, London School of Economics and Political Science; Anna Valero, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Joao Paulo Pessoa, London School of Economics and Political Science
The latest data from the ONS show that the UK’s productivity gap with other G7 nations is at its widest since 1992. This bad news comes against the backdrop of increased optimism as the economy seems finally…
Online labour marketplaces are capitalising on increased numbers of “casualised” workers.
Victor1558/Flickr
Some of the newest enterprises online are those which link workers to anyone who wants a job done. They’re not concerned with employment or jobs but with “tasks”. These are small, one-off, discrete portions…
Hairdressing was once on the Migration Occupation in Demand List, which is again under scrutiny.
Alan Porritt/AAP
Governments in most countries, including Australia, often feel the need to predict which skills will be in demand and match them with increased supply largely through education planning and migration…
In workplaces right now it is increasingly tough to avoid what I call “pathology days” – those working days that are annually hijacked by some insistent PR agency or charity trying to raise awareness of…
Are traditional trade apprenticeships on the decline?
AAP Image/Julian Smith
“The previous government oversaw changes to apprenticeship policy and cuts in employer incentives that led to huge drops in the numbers of young people starting an apprenticeship.” - Australian Chamber…
The progress women made in the workforce decades ago appears to have stalled.
State Library of South Australia/Flickr
Bella Counihan, The Conversation; Charis Palmer, The Conversation, and Kylar Loussikian, The Conversation
Australian girls and women start out on an equal footing with males in school and higher education, but fall behind in workforce participation and leadership roles, according to a new report prepared for…
Freelancer brings together employers and casual workers in what the market has determined is a billion dollar business.
ojtibi/Flickr
Online labour marketplace Freelancer.com listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on Friday and saw immediate gains on its initial stock price of 50 cents to a high of A$2.60 before closing at A$1.60…
Backpackers make up a hidden stream of labour in Australia. But what makes a ‘good’ migrant for policy-makers, and why is there a distinction?
Siim Teller
In his short period in office so far, prime minister Tony Abbott has been taken to task on two issues with important neighbours: asylum seeker boats arriving from Indonesia, and the rights of New Zealanders…
Migrants have become coal mine canaries, warning of future employment troubles.
squiddles
Labour spokesman Chris Bryant’s speech on immigration calling on companies to take on more British young people came days after news there had been a leap in zero-hour contracts, a type of contract used…
No dearth of talent here… but Australia could learn from the Olympics how to attract the best global skilled workers.
Last year, thousands of athletes from hundreds of countries competed in the London Olympics. The International Olympic Committee had no difficulty attracting the world’s leading sporting talent because…
The Federal Government claims Australia’s employment services are world class - but how effective are they really?
A new report from the OECD on Australia’s employment service system has prompted the Federal Government to claim that Australia is a “world leader in employment participation” and that Job Services Australia…