Men Not at Work: An Analysis of Men Outside the Labour Force

Abstract

The Productivity Commission Staff Working Paper, 'Men not at Work: An Analysis of Men Outside the Workforce' (by Ralph Lattimore), was released in January 2007. This paper analyses the characteristics of adult men outside the labour force in Australia. The paper finds that, in contrast to women, the rates at which men are disengaged from the labour force have increased fourfold over the past century, rising especially rapidly over the last 50 years. There are many drivers of this transformation of the Australian labour market. Some of it is due to: population ageing; younger men are spending longer in education; older men are enjoying a longer voluntary retirement; and men are now much more involved in domestic and childcare tasks - 30 per cent of those aged 35 to 44 years are not in the labour force for this reason. Many prime-aged males leave the labour market due to injury, ill-health, disability or premature 'retirement'. About half the men aged 25 to 64 years who are outside the labour force receive the Disability Support Pension. Inactive men are more likely to be living alone, be poorly educated, and of indigenous or non-English speaking migrant background. A man aged 45 to 54 years living alone is about four times more likely to be outside the labour force than one who is married or who has a partner. The paper does not make any recommendations, but the research should assist policy development in areas central to getting more men into or back into the workforce. The views expressed in this paper are those of the staff involved and do not necessarily reflect those of the Productivity Commission.