White Paper

Data collected for the Australian National University (ANU) annual ANUpoll series shows Australians are comfortable with their job security, however they are less optimistic about finding a different job for the same or better wage. ANUpoll data shows about 88 per cent of Australians think it is 'not at all likely' or 'not too likely' they will lose their job, or in the case of business owners, lay off employees or close the business. The data also shows more than half of all Australians say it would be 'not easy at all' to find a job with another employer with approximately the same income and fringe benefits. Lead researcher on the ANUpoll series Dr Jill Sheppard said while Australians appear secure in their current job, they are pessimistic about their future employment prospects. "These findings are interesting in the context of the current wage growth debate. People may be confident in their job security at their current employer but think they won't get better conditions elsewhere. They might be tempted to remain in their current job to maintain the conditions they have now," Dr Sheppard said. "The biggest concern relating to job security is that an employer finds someone overseas will to do their job for less money, with nearly 20 per cent of Australians feeling 'very concerned' about this." The industries most concerned about losing their job to an overseas worker willing to work for less are retail trade, accommodation/food services and agriculture, fishing and forestry (all between 20 and 30 per cent 'very concerned'). ANUpoll also regularly measures Australians satisfaction with the way the country is heading. In the six months between ANUpolls, satisfaction with the direction of Australia dropped nearly 10 per cent, and dissatisfaction rose nearly 10 per cent. "This ANUpoll suggests Australia is facing a crisis of public dissatisfaction," Dr Sheppard said.

A long-running research study looking at ways to increase access to postsecondary education of underrepresented students found that enhanced career-education programs and promises of financial support made as early as high school boosted participation rates. And higher participation rates yielded substantial economic returns to the lives of young people. The study, Education and Labour Market Impacts of the Future to Discover Project, was conducted by the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) and published by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. SRDC’s Future to Discover project began in 2003 to look at ways of reducing barriers that underrepresented students face, such as a lack of financial resources, poor academic preparation and a lack of information about postsecondary education. The study provides “a first, cautious answer to one of the most critical questions asked by decision makers concerned with PSE access programming: ‘How much of a difference will PSE make to the lives of youth who will not go if we do not intervene?’”

It’s a familiar feeling. You need something. You invest resources – time and effort – to get it. You finally see it in front of you. You reach for it. And… you realize there’s still a barrier preventing you from grabbing and using it. This is the reality faced by researchers and government officials looking to understand whether our secondary and postsecondary education system is providing students with the skills they need to succeed in the economy of tomorrow. But this barrier is not insurmountable

The expectation of rising living standards, with each generation doing better than the one before, has long been a given. More recently, that expectation has diminished—and with good reason. One of the best measures economists use to determine Americans’ economic advancement is whether wages are rising, broadly and consistently. After adjusting for inflation, wages are only 10 percent higher in 2017 than they were in 1973, with annual real wage growth just below 0.2 percent.1 The U.S. economy has experienced long-term real wage stagnation and a persistent lack of economic progress for many workers. For more than a decade, The Hamilton Project has offered proposals and analyses aimed at increasing both economic growth and broad participation in its benefits. This document highlights the necessary conditions for broadly shared wage growth, trends closely related to stagnation in wages for many workers, and the recent history of wage growth, with an emphasis on the experience of the Great Recession and recovery. It concludes by discussing how public policies can effectively contribute to the growth in wages that is a core part of improving living standards for all Americans.

The nature of work is changing. Like other countries, Canada needs to think strategically about how best to use its most important asset, that is to say, its human capital. Automation upsets the traditional methods of work, and our research suggest that about half of the jobs in Canada will experience a significant transformation over the years. Technological changes will affect both men and women in the workforce. However, our analysis reveals that women are more at risk because they occupy more than half of Canadian jobs that are highly likely to be automated, which represent 35% of all jobs. This does not mean that women will lose their historical developments and social because of new technologies. Our work demonstrates that women could be an advantage for the future job market. According to our analysis, skills, digital and social - that women already widely used - will be in high demand in the coming years. However, to help women make the transition, it will change how to evaluate talent. [googletranslate_en]

In this paper we examine whether past labour market reforms aiming at reducing the rate of unemployment have raised its long-run volatility. Using non-linear panel data models applied to 24 OECD countries between 1985 and 2007, as well as Monte-Carlo techniques, we do not find any evidence of such policy trade-off. In contrast, we find that reduced unemployment benefit duration, more competition-inducing product market regulation and looser employment protection legislation are associated with a weaker persistence of unemployment over time, which implies a lower volatility of unemployment in the long run. More specifically, the evidence suggests that even in the case of reforms that may have raised the short term sensitivity of unemployment to business cycles (such as with the easing of employment protection), the weaker persistence effect dominates the higher cyclical volatility, implying a net reduction in long-term volatility.

This summary report is the product of collaboration between five Sector Skills Councils responsible for skills issues in the majority of manufacturing in the UK and seeks to advance understanding of: The strategic context and drivers behind the development of Advanced Manufacturing technologies; The range and scope of Advanced Manufacturing technologies and how they affect many areas of economic life; The current skills issues facing the development of Advanced Manufacturing technologies; Anticipated future skills demand and supply issues, including the identification of skills mismatches; Cross-cutting issues affecting a number of individual Advanced Manufacturing technologies and industries and; Key messages for government and priorities for action to support the development of Advanced Manufacturing.

In the midst of rapid technological change, political polarization and a fragile economic recovery, it is critical that we define, assess and implement new pathways to growth and prosperity. The 2018 edition of the Global Competitiveness Report represents a milestone in the four-decade history of the series, with the introduction of the new Global Competitiveness Index 4.0. The new index sheds light on an emerging set of drivers of productivity and long-term growth in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It provides a much-needed compass for policymakers and other stakeholders to help shape economic strategies and monitor progress.

Predicting the future of work is one of the most exciting - and difficult - areas of research within education today. The implications of changing demand for particular skills on our education systems are enormous. This is why I was delighted to be a part of the foresight exercise to determine the changing demand for skills. The discussions were rich and sophisticated, in large part because of the quality of the thought leaders convened. The discussion was made richer still because we were provided with what you now have: a rigorous catalogue of the trends that will shape the future of work. Our aim in sharing this set of insights is twofold: one, to make visible as much of the research process as possible, and two, to provide you with insights that you can apply, build on, and, of course, critique.