Job Quality in Emerging Economies through the Lens of the OECD Job Quality Framework

Abstract

Abstract This chapter provides a comprehensive analysis of job quality in emerging economies using the OECD Job Quality Framework, which is articulated around three broad dimensions: earnings quality, labour market security, and quality of the working environment. The analysis paints a detailed picture across sociodemographic groups, placing particular attention on the gap between formal and informal employment. The results show that the main issue for emerging economies is not the lack of jobs as such, but the shortage of quality jobs. This is partly related to inadequate social security, which pushes workers into subsistence-level occupations. In all three dimensions analysed, jobs in emerging economies are of lower quality, on average, than in OECD countries. Lower earnings quality derives from both wide gaps in average earnings and higher levels of inequality vis-à-vis more advanced economies. Labour market insecurity due to unemployment is similar to the OECD average, but workers in emerging economies typically face a significant additional risk of falling into extreme low pay while employed. The gap in the quality of the working environment is most evident by the high incidence of very long working hours in emerging economies. Youth, low-skilled and informal workers have the worst outcomes across countries.