University of Tasmania
Browse

File(s) under permanent embargo

Are Australian jobs becoming more skill-instensive? Evidence from the HILDA dataset

conference contribution
posted on 2023-05-23, 04:18 authored by Fraser, DR
Labour market policy rhetoric since the 1980s has promoted the view that jobs in industrialised counties, if they are to survive the pressures of global competition, will need to place ever-increasing demands on the skills of the workforce. This paper describes a study designed to test this proposition on a representative sample of the Australian working population over the period from 2001 to 2005. The data come from HILDA (Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia), a panel survey of some 6,000 households and 18,000 individuals conducted annually since 2001. The dataset includes three indicators representing a common metric across industries, occupations and levels in the workforce hierarchy of the degree to which jobs “stretch” the skill base of those who work in them, together with three variables covering task discretion and worker autonomy, which past research has shown to be highly correlated with skill-intensity. These data make it possible for the first time to duplicate in Australia, albeit in lesser detail, the landmark research on the skills trajectory of the UK economy carried out over the last twenty years for the Economic and Social Research Council. Initial analyses suggest that in the aggregate, Australian jobs were less skill-intensive in 2005 than in 2001, a counter-intuitive trend for which an explanation has still to be found.

History

Publication title

Papers presented at the AVETRA 2008 Conference

Volume

11

Pagination

1-13

ISBN

978-0-9805275-0-6

Department/School

TSBE

Publisher

AVETRA

Place of publication

www.avetra.org.au

Event title

VET in Context AVETRA 2008

Event Venue

Adelaide

Date of Event (Start Date)

2008-04-03

Date of Event (End Date)

2008-04-04

Rights statement

Copyright 2008 AVETRA

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Policies and development

Usage metrics

    University Of Tasmania

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC