Labor Market Conditions Research Articles

Investigating the Impact of Boundaryless Career Attitudes on Career Success: Decisive Role of Job Crafting

Purpose: Volatile labor market conditions have increased the uncertainty regarding job security which resultantly shifted the career transition focus from organization to individual for career development. Now, employees seem much more responsible for their self-career management. In these circumstances, new career management concepts are gaining attention i.e. Boundaryless career attitudes (BCA), Job Crafting behaviors (JCB), Employability and Success. Hence, the study aims to check the effect of BCA on Career Success through JC and Employability.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: This is a quantitative, survey-based study which is conducted on the universities’ permanent faculty members of Pakistan.
 Findings: The results conclude that there exists a positive impact of BCA on Career Outcomes directly and through proactive behavior.
 Implications/Originality/Value: The study enhances the BCA literature with said career outcomes and provides a guideline to the employees to achieve desired targeted career results.

Experienced Well-Being and Labor Market Status: The Role of Pleasure and Meaning

This paper examines the experienced well-being of employed and unemployed workers. We use the survey-adapted Day Reconstruction Method of the Innovation Sample of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study to analyze the role of the employment status for well-being, incorporating time use. We use the novel P-index to summarize the average share of pleasurable minutes on a day and show that in contrast to evaluative life satisfaction the unemployed experiences more pleasurable minutes due to the absence of working episodes. Hence, we examine working episodes in depth. While working is among the activities with the highest propensities for an unpleasant experience, it is also among the most meaningful activities. We show that meaning is a central non-monetary determinant for pleasure at work and find that pleasure during work and job satisfaction have a comparable association with meaning.

The bidirectional relationship of obesity and labor market status - Findings from a German prospective panel study

BackgroundGiven the inconsistent findings regarding associations between obesity and unemployment, our analysis is one of the few that explores bidirectional changes in obesity and unemployment. In our prospective study, we address factors associated with thetransition into and transition out of obesity, including unemployment, andtransition into and out of unemployment, including obesity.Subjects and methodsThe Labor Market and Social Security-Panel (PASS) consists of two independent, nationally representative German subsamples: residents receiving unemployment benefits (50%) and a representative sample of residents (50%). The sample contains N = 11 361 observations between two measurement points three years apart of N = 8440 individuals participating in two or three waves between 2009 and 2015. We analyzed potential predictors of the transition in and out of obesity and unemployment, including health-related quality of life (HrQoL) and physical activity, using logistic regression models.ResultsTransition into obesity: Unemployed participants had a higher probability of exhibiting a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg/m2 three years later (transition into obesity classes II and III; Exp(B) = 1.5).Transition out of obesity: Unemployment did not predict transition out of obesity. Physical activity at least once weekly increased the probability of no longer having a BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 three years later (Exp(B) = 2.0).Transition into unemployment: Obesity was not associated with becoming unemployed three years later. Participants with a lower mental HrQoL were more likely to become unemployed (Exp(B) = 0.98).Transition out of unemployment: Unemployed individuals reporting a BMI of 30–34.9 kg/m2 were less likely to leave unemployment (Exp(B) = 0.67). A better physical HrQoL was associated with a higher probability of leaving unemployment (Exp(B) = 1.01).ConclusionsObesity does not predict future unemployment, but unemployed individuals with obesity have a lower probability of labor market re-entry. Unemployment increases obesity risk. Interactions between obesity and possible confounding variables and their effect on unemployment warrants further examination.

The Silver Generation in the labor market: Work and time management of the 65+ age group in North-Eastern Hungary

The investigation of the labor market challenges generated by an aging society is currently one of the central subjects of international academic literature. Previous research mostly analyzed the labor market participation of people aged between 55 and 65. However, as the raising of the retirement age is on the agenda in several European countries, the ability and willingness of the 65+ age group to work has become a key issue. Our questionnaire survey conducted in Hajdú-Bihar county, North-Eastern Hungary (N = 2,625, multistage probability sample) focused on this age group, which has received relatively little attention in research with respect to their labor market status. It investigated participation in the formal and informal labor market, the time management of the 65+ age group, and the factors that determine their willingness to work. Our analysis revealed that only a rather small proportion (2.7%) of the investigated age group is engaged in the formal economy, and the vast majority (93%) is not engaged in any gainful activity even in the informal economy. However, in 68.7% of the sample we can identify certain activities that aim to reduce expenses and can be clearly considered as work. Thus the members of the Silver Generation are working to a considerably higher degree than official employment statistics show. The primary obstacle for open labor market involvement is not age but rather education level and health status. According to our research, the level of employment of the 65+ age group is highly affected by the lack of pressing financial need and also by ageism. A total of 99.2% of the respondents possess transfer incomes that cover their living expenses, so in their case there is no financial constraint forcing them to return to the open labor market. At the same time, certain widespread stereotypes about the work involvement of older people are also strongly present among members of the 65+ age group (internalized ageism) and significantly reduce their motivation to participate in employment in the formal economy even among those members of the age group who are still fit for work.

The Sensitivity of Food Bank Visits to Social Assistance, Housing and Labour Market Conditions in Toronto

The Sensitivity of Food Bank Visits to Social Assistance, Housing and Labour Market Conditions in Toronto

Estimating the cost of training an ophthalmologist in Brazil

Introduction: It is estimated that 23% of the Brazilian population does not have access to an ophthalmologist, mainly because of the irregular geographical distribution of experts. It may be expensive to train ophthalmologists in Brazil. Objective: To estimate the cost of training an ophthalmologist and the labor market conditions so that the provider recovers the investment. Methods: Epidemiological study in databases from governmental sources and institutions related to the eye health system regulation. Results: The cost for training an [...]

Formation of professional mobility of future specialists in the sphere of physical culture and sport in the course of internship

The article reveals methodological basis of professional mobility formation of future specialists in physical culture and sport during their internship providing personal preparedness to effective adaptation to the demands of present-day labor market, professional activity and shifts within social and professional fields. The authors have revealed that under conditions of labor market, professional education promotes establishment of person’s competiveness only in case of formation of his/her professional mobility, topicality of which is primarily related to social demand. To reveal basic drawbacks of professional preparedness of future specialists in physical culture and sport in higher educational establishments and the issues of formation of their professional mobility, polling and questioning of coaches in kinds of sports in various categories qualifications in Children’s and Youth Sports Schools of Khmelnytskyi and Khmelnytskyi oblast school of higher sports mastery were done.
 The notion of “professional mobility of a specialist in physical culture and sport” has been revealed. It has been determined that engaging students in practical activity is an important condition for the formation of the aforementioned quality of students in higher educational establishments. This way students shift their position: from being the object of education to subject of self-realization. Types of internship have been outlined, organizational conditions and factors that promote students’ positive motivation to acquisition of professional mobility have been specified, namely: realization of ultimate aims of education, theoretical and practical value of the acquired knowledge; demonstration of future professional perspectives during internship; professional orientation of educational activity; tackling of problem situations occurring in the process of professional activity. It has been revealed that that in the course of internship, it is possible to form such integrative quality of a person as professional mobility, which allows future specialists in physical culture and sport to learn adjacent types of professional activity quickly and thoroughly and envisages preparedness to quick adaptation on present-day labor market and employment which provide competitiveness of future specialists.

Why a labour market boom does not necessarily bring down inequality: putting together Germany's inequality puzzle

AbstractAfter an economically tough start to the new millennium, Germany experienced an unprecedented employment boom after 2005, only stopped by the COVID‐19 pandemic. Persistently high levels of inequality despite a booming labour market and drastically falling unemployment rates constituted a puzzle, suggesting either that the German job miracle mainly benefitted individuals in the mid‐ or high‐income range or that other developments offset the effects of the drastically improved labour market conditions. The present paper solves this puzzle by breaking down the observed changes in the distribution of disposable incomes between 2005–06 and 2015–16 into the contributions of eight different factors, one of them being the employment boom. Our results suggest that, while the latter did have an equalising impact, it was partially offset by the disequalising impact of other factors, and substantially dampened by the transfer system. Our results point to a strong role of the German transfer system as a distributional stabiliser implying that, if the COVID‐19 shock were to persistently reverse all the employment gains that occurred during the boom, this would only have a moderately disequalising effect on the distribution of net incomes.

COVID-19 and Domestic Violence: Economics or Isolation?

Recent studies estimate that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly increases reports of domestic violence in several countries. Using mobile device tracking data, city-level unemployment data, and new data on labor market conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, we isolate the effects of unemployment and staying at home on incidents of domestic violence. We find that unemployment decreases domestic violence after controlling for the degree to which people stay at home. We also provide evidence that staying at home increases domestic violence. However, we find that the effects of unemployment and staying at home are concentrated right after an initial shock from mid-March to mid-June 2020. Finally, we find that some labor market conditions linked to COVID-19, such as being prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic, decrease domestic violence, and these labor market effects are often gendered.

Wage determination and the bite of collective contracts in Italy and Spain

In several OECD countries employer federations and unions fix skill-specific wage floors for all workers in an industry. One view of those “explicit” contracts argues that the prevailing wage structure reflects the labor market conditions back at the time when those contracts were bargained, with little space for renegotiation. An alternative view stresses that only workers close to the minima are affected by wage floors and that the wage structure reacts to current labor market conditions. We disentangle between those hypotheses by testing whether wages react more to local contemporaneous unemployment or unemployment at the time of contract renewal in Italy and Spain. The results suggest that most wages in the metalworking industry adjusted to the cycle between 2005 and 2013, and that rigidity generated by lack of renegotiation is confined to wages close to the floors (about 12-15% of the total).

The Role of Observed and Unobserved Heterogeneity in the Duration of Unemployment Spells

<ns2:p>This paper studies the degree to which observable and unobservable worker characteristics account for the variation in the aggregate duration of unemployment. I model the distribution of unobserved worker heterogeneity as time varying to capture the interaction of latent attributes with changes in labor-market conditions. Unobserved heterogeneity is the main explanation for the duration dependence of unemployment hazards. Both cyclical and low-frequency variations in the mean duration of unemployment are mainly driven by one subgroup: workers who, for unobserved reasons, stay unemployed for a long time. In contrast, changes in the composition of observable characteristics of workers have negligible effects.</ns2:p>

Employment Outcomes for Men and Women Following an Economic Downturn: Labour Underutilisation in Australia

In Australia, as elsewhere, there has been continuing interest in understanding questions regarding unequal employment opportunities. While aggregate patterns provide a useful overview, it is insightful to consider employment outcomes across segmented markets. One such segmented market is between men and women, where it is widely understood that labour market engagement opportunities will differ. This paper provides an investigation of these uneven labour market outcomes. It presents an analysis of labour underutilisation for men and women using panel data, taking account of both individual-level supply-side factors together with the strength of the local labour market (demand side) and the performance of the broader macroeconomic environment. The result is an analysis that accounts for the impact of changing macroeconomy, local labour market conditions and men and women's employability assets.

Effect of Increasing Import Competition from China on the Local Labor Market: Evidence from Sweden

Import competition from low-wage countries can worsen labor market conditions in high-income countries and undermine the sustainability of free international trade. We examine the effect of increasing manufacturing imports from China on manufacturing employment and wage earnings distribution in Sweden by employing a two-stage least squares estimation method. The empirical results indicate that, except for the transportation sector, the effect of increasing import exposure to China on manufacturing and non-manufacturing employment growth is statistically insignificant. Regarding earnings distribution, we find that the earnings growth of low-wage workers in the manufacturing sector is not significantly influenced by an increase in Chinese imports. However, wage earners at the median level or above are positively impacted by trade shocks from China. These findings have implications for seeking policy alternatives that can enhance the sustainability of the international trade order.

Racial Equity in Cannabis Policy: Diversity in the Massachusetts Adult-Use Industry at 18-months.

Cannabis criminalization disproportionately harms communities of color in the United States. In Massachusetts' legal recreational ("adult-use") cannabis industry, state regulations intend to promote diverse participation. We assessed short-term racial/ethnic and gender diversity across the industry and in senior-level positions with greater opportunities to build wealth (i.e., board members, executives, directors). We extracted race/ethnicity and gender from required registration forms submitted to state regulators for each person working in a licensed adult-use cannabis business from October 2018 to April 2020 (n=4,883). We conducted descriptive analysis and negative binomial regression to assess characteristics associated with senior positions. As of April 2020, racial/ethnic and gender diversity in the Massachusetts adult-use cannabis market (n=4,883) was 75% white, 7% Latino, 6% Black/African American, similar to the state labor market, and 65% male. Diversity was more limited in senior positions. Agents in senior positions (n=403) were 84% white, 2% Latino, 5% Black/African American, and 82% male. Senior-level participation was markedly low for women of color. Despite legislative and regulatory commitment, diversity lacks in senior positions in this emerging cannabis market. States considering adult-use cannabis markets, and those that have already done so, should monitor participation to identify inequities and adapt initiatives to ensure Black/African American and Latino communities socially and economically benefit from state legalization.

Migrant Labor Supply Chains: Architectures of Mobile Assemblages

This paper explores the potential for Assemblage Theory to supplement current approaches to studying labor migration in law and the social sciences. Based upon a study of women's migration for garment and domestic work in India, I lay out the labor supply chain assemblage (LSCA) as a framework for understanding how workers find employment across multi-site, dynamic trajectories. Migration into temporary employment requires workers to move between jobs on an ongoing basis. Accordingly, studying labor supply chains as fluid assemblages defined by labor market conditions, component elements, and various agents provides a methodology for analyzing frequent job searches, across recruitment geographies, that include a range of recruitment actors. By accommodating temporal, territorial, and relational analysis, this approach provides insight into how labor migration processes for migrant garment and domestic workers in India articulate with the development of markets, working conditions, and social hierarchies – including on the basis of gender and caste.

Is this the end of the Job Network model? The evolution and future of performance‐based contracting of employment services in Australia

AbstractAustralia was the first OECD nation to privatise its public employment service, replacing it with the “Job Network model” of performance‐based contracting. A “New Employment Services Model” commences in July 2022 following a major review. To assess the prospects for systemic reform, we trace the model's development from 2007–2019 in response to changes of government and policy goals, tensions within the model and labour market conditions. One reason for the model's endurance is that it met the policy goal of successive governments to closely supervise job search at low cost. The Job Network was poorly suited to the policy shift under Labor governments (2007–2013) towards skills development, but they found it less fiscally and politically costly to layer new programs on top than transform the model. Its poor performance in reducing long‐term unemployment and declining take‐up by employers triggered the recent review, which recommended the transfer of those closest to employment to an online service, a licensing system, and less reliance on outcome payments. The review's proposals could lead to systemic change, but only if underpinned by a shift in policy goals from benefit compliance and cost containment towards greater agency for, and investment in, unemployed people.

"I am 30 and I have nothing": the context of reception and the lived experiences of foreign migrants working as car guards in Johannesburg's West Rand.

South Africa is an important destination for immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Migration and its impact remain significant in South African society: demographically, politically, economically and socially. Many migrants are forced to take up informal income-generating activities such as day labouring and car guarding. This study investigated the lived experiences and context of reception of foreign migrant car guards using a survey instrument among formal car guards working in the parking lots of shopping centres in the western part of Johannesburg. Demographic data, employment history and objective and subjective indicators were used to assess their socio-economic and labour market outcomes. The subjective well-being of the migrant car guards was analysed using descriptive statistics and an ordered probit model. The study revealed the extent and depth of the vulnerabilities experienced by individuals subjected to working in the informal economy as well as being migrants. They have to tolerate sub-standard employment in the informal sector as there are no other viable options. At the same time, they must provide for dependants back home. The result is emotional stress and low levels of subjective well-being. Migrant car guards' unique labour market status and relationship with the shopping centres and car guard companies deserve urgent research attention.

Erratum to: Protected through Part-time Employment? Labor Market Status, Domestic Responsibilities, and the Life Satisfaction of German Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Erratum to: Protected through Part-time Employment? Labor Market Status, Domestic Responsibilities, and the Life Satisfaction of German Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Variable targeting and reduction in large vector autoregressions with applications to workforce indicators

We develop statistical tools for time series analysis of large multivariate datasets, when a few core series are of principal interest and there are many potential auxiliary predictive variables. The methodology, based on Vector Autoregressions (VAR), handles the case where unrestricted fitting is precluded by a large number of series and a huge parameter space. In particular, we adopt a forecast error criterion and use Granger-causality tests in a sequential manner to build a VAR model that targets the main variables. This approach affects variable reduction (or equivalently, sparsity restrictions) in a computationally fast way that remains feasible for large dimensions. The search for the best model results in a VAR, fitted with a selection of supporting series, that has the best possible forecast performance with respect to the core variables. We apply the statistical methodology to model real Gross Domestic Product and the national Unemployment Rate, two time series widely monitored by economists and policy-makers, based on a large set of Quarterly Workforce Indicators comprising various major sectors of the economy and different measures of labor market conditions.

Treatment-resistant depression and labor market affiliation in the Danish welfare society: a register-based study.

We explored if patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) go through different states of labor market affiliation during their course of illness before they return to work or obtain early retirement as compared to patients without TRD. All adults between 18 and 58years with a first-time hospital contact due to depression in Danish patients' registers from 2000 to 2014 were followed in a nationwide labor market database. At time of TRD (index week), TRD patients were matched with patients without TRD in a 1:2 ratio. Sequence analysis and logistic regression were applied to explore the association of TRD and labor market affiliation and measures of transitions between labor market states 52weeks before and after the index week. At the index week, 14.1% of patients with TRD were in employment, whereas the proportion was 26.4% among non-TRD patients. Over time, the proportion of patients in employment increased slightly to 25.5% for TRD and 33.7% for non-TRD patients. The proportion of TRD patients with sickness absence at index was 47.0%, while the proportion was 26.2% for non-TRD patients. The adjusted odds of a below mean volatility of labor market transitions, characterized by more episodes in passive social transfer payments and disability pension, were higher among patients with TRD compared with non-TRD patients (OR 1.63, 95% CI [1.56-1.69]). Similarly, the adjusted odds of a below mean integration into employment were 1.63 higher among TRD patients compared with non-TRD patients (95% CI [1.56-1.70]). Patients with TRD have higher levels of sickness absence and lower levels of reintegration into the labor market after meeting the criteria for TRD compared with patients without TRD.