Low-skilled Occupations Research Articles

Bridging the Digital Divide: Fostering STEM Education for Digital Economy Leadership

As BRICS countries strive to build a digital economy, these nations must prepare their populous for the ‘future of work.’ Digital economies tend to create middle to high-skilled jobs. This is problematic as many workers are trapped in low-skill occupations and lack the expertise to participate in a digital economy adequately. A digital economy requires a population that is literate in Science, Technology, Engineering, and mathematics (STEM). While BRICS has made progress in educating their populous in these fields, they still have a long way to go. More STEM graduates (especially women) must be produced to maintain and create a digital economy. This policy brief maps out strategies for BRICS countries to increase STEM participation.

The influence of robot applications on rural labor transfer

Employment is a pivotal driver for ensuring and enhancing people’s livelihoods, with stable employment forming the bedrock for achieving high-quality economic development. In this study, CMDS data from 2014–2018, IFR data, and micro-data from China’s Second National Economic Census were utilized to analyze the impact of robot applications on rural labor migration in China, exploring both theoretical and empirical dimensions, particularly the crowding-out effect. The research findings suggest that robot applications influence labor demand through expansion and substitution effects. The results show robot applications significantly increased the probability of rural labor considering re-migration, with a 1% increase in urban robot density resulting in a 0.249% increase in the likelihood of rural labor re-migration. In addition, robot applications were found to reduce the migration rate of urban labor and increase the probability of rural laborers returning to the agricultural sector. Based on mechanism analyses, robot applications were found to have pronounced passive effects in accelerating rural labor migration, particularly among groups with lower skill levels, individuals aged over 44, those in low-skilled occupations, those possessing strong mobility, and those residing in economically developed areas. The conclusions of this study provide new insights for stabilizing employment and optimizing rural labor migration in the context of artificial intelligence development.

Physically demanding occupations among females and sex-related differences to develop osteoarthritis of the hip: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundHip osteoarthritis (HOA) is a leading cause of disability increasing with age and is more prevalent in women and in various physically demanding occupations. This systematic review identifies and summarises occupational exposures for women in physically demanding occupations and discusses sex differences and consequences.MethodsIn this systematic review, we searched various electronic databases for reports published between date of database inception and October 2022. We included cohort studies and case-control studies that assessed the association between exposure to physically demanding occupations and the development of HOA. We then assessed the methodological quality of selected studies, extracted relative effects, compared the risk for women and men and meta-analytically reviewed the effects of physically demanding occupations. All steps were based on a study protocol published in PROSPERO (CRD42015016894).ResultsWe included six cohort studies and two case-control studies in this systematic review. These studies showed a considerably increased risk of developing HOA in both sexes. Women working in traditionally female-dominated occupations such as cleaning, sales, catering, childcare and hairdressing that are physically demanding, have a higher risk of developing HOA than men in similarly physically demanding occupations. Conversely, in traditionally male-dominated occupations with a high heterogeneity of work activities, such as agriculture, crafts, construction, as well as in low-skilled occupations, the risk was higher for men. One exception are health occupations, which are grouped together with a wide range of other technical occupations, making it difficult to draw conclusions.ConclusionsExisting studies indicate an association between various occupations with a high physical workload and an increased risk of developing HOA. Occupational prevention and individual health promotion strategies should focus on reducing the effects of heavy physical workloads at work. The aforementioned as well as early detection should be specifically offered to women in female-dominated occupations and to people working in elementary occupations.

A configurational approach to job quality analysis: forms of inequalities at work in Europe

ABSTRACT While job quality is often described in a binary way, this article proposes a configurational approach to account for the interactions between the subjective and objective dimensions and to combine the relations between the micro-, meso- and macro-level variables in a single frame. Based on data from the EWCS (2015) in 29 European countries, this article uses a cluster analysis to identify five configurations of job quality in Europe. This approach renews the study of job quality and reveals differentiated registers of relationships to work, which are dependent on micro-level variables as well as meso-level variables (the context of the respondent’s company) and macro-level variables. The perception of job quality differs markedly between high-skilled occupations and low-skilled occupations, but there is also a segmentation of jobs at both the middle and the bottom of the European social space. Belonging to the public sector is a determining factor in the existence of critical relationships to jobs.

Job polarisation in Italy: routinisation and structural change?

ABSTRACT Notwithstanding evidence on job polarisation in Italy, to date, studies have not investigated the role of structural change in explaining shrinking routine employment. Over the period 2004–2019, despite the structural change pattern of employment featured by the pronounced contraction of the most routine-intensive sector – i.e., manufacturing – declining routine employment emerges as a more generalised phenomenon involving all sectors, regardless of specialisation in routine-cognitive or routine-manual jobs. Province-level routine-tasks specialisation increases employment in low-skill occupations in six out of eight broad industries, while only 20 percent of the total contraction in routine employment is attributable to between-industry shifts.

Vocational interest, skills, and counselling as correlates of unemployed graduates’ readiness to enter low-paying occupations in Delta State of Nigeria

There is a high level of unemployment amongst National Youth Service Corps-discharged graduates of universities and polytechnics in Nigeria, especially in Delta State. This necessitated guiding these graduates to take to low-skill, low-paying jobs, as an alternative to redundancy and the attendant indulgence in anti-social behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between vocational interest, skills possessed and vocational guidance techniques, and unemployed graduates’ readiness to enter into low-skill occupations. A research hypothesis was formulated for the correlational design study. Three instruments: the Modified Bakare Vocational Interest inventory (MB VII), the vocational skills possessed inventory (VSPI), and the vocational guidance techniques (counseling) were used. The study population comprised of all unemployed NYSC-discharged graduates in Delta State. Purposive sampling was used to select two Local Government Areas (LGA’s) from each of the three Senatorial Districts of Delta State (Six LGA’s). Random sampling was used to obtain two hundred and forty respondents from the six LGAs. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results indicated that vocational interest, skills possessed and counseling had significant relationships with unemployed graduate's readiness to enter low-skill occupations. They were all predictors of entry into low-skill jobs except counseling.

Berufsbedingte Unterschiede in COVID-19-Erkrankungen – Eine wellenspezifische Analyse von 3,17 Millionen gesetzlich Versicherten

Occupational differences in COVID-19 diseases – A wave-specific analysis of 3.17 million insured persons Objective: Previous results on occupational differences in the COVID-19 infection risk are heterogeneous. One reason for this could be the different observation periods of previous studies. Wave-specific analyses are not yet available. The aim of this paper is to investigate COVID-19 disease risks along occupational characteristics for the first four waves of the pandemic. Methods: The study uses health insurance data from the research database of InGef (Institute for Applied Health Research) on more than 3.17 million insured men and women between 18 and 67 years of age. To compare wave-specific associations, a distinction was made between the four main infection waves of the pandemic between 01.01.2020 and 31.12.2021. SARS-CoV-2 infections were determined on the basis of the transmitted COVID-19 diagnoses (ICD codes U07.1!). Occupations were divided according to the four groupings of the official classification of occupations. In addition to wave-specific incidence rates, multivariable Cox regressions were estimated (adjusted for sex, age and region). Results: Personal service occupations (esp. healthcare occupations) showed significantly higher incidence rates, especially at the beginning of the pandemic (waves 1 and 2), but these rates were comparable to those of other occupations with increased risk during the course of the pandemic. Production occupations (especially manufacturing occupations), on the other hand, had rather low incidence rates at the beginning of the pandemic, but higher risks as the pandemic progressed. A kind of reversal from lower to higher incidence rates in the course of the pandemic was also observed for lowskilled occupations or occupations without a management function. Results remained consistent after controlling for sex, age and region. Conclusion: The study shows that occupational differences in COVID-19 incidence varied by pandemic phase. Accordingly, it appears that the risk of infections is partly shaped by the occupation, but also by the extent to which it was possible to establish infection control measures during the pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19 – occupational inequalities – social epidemiology – Germany

Disentangling aporophobia from xenophobia in the EU-15

ABSTRACT This paper analyses whether the human capital levels embodied in immigrants can explain xenophobic trends for 126 regions in 14 EU-15 countries from 1998 to 2018. It tests if xenophobic regions may be rejecting immigrants because they are poor, a phenomenon recently defined as ‘aporophobia’. The results indicate that larger inflows of low-educated immigrants working in low-skilled occupations are significantly correlated with a higher rejection of migrants, thus confirming the aporophobia hypothesis. The findings in this paper bring light to the discussion of a powerful concept which underpins the need for a more just society.

Longer schooling with grade retention: The effects of increasing the school leaving age on dropping out and labour market success

This paper examines the effects of increasing the compulsory school leaving age from 16 to 18 in Hungary using a difference-in-regression-discontinuities design empirical strategy. While the reform increased the length of schooling, it did not decrease the probability of dropping out of secondary school, either on average or among the most at-risk group of Roma ethnic minority students. Due to grade retentions, marginal students were older than their peers and couldn't have reached the final grade of secondary school by age 18 to earn a degree. The reform also did not affect the probability of employment, hours worked, wages and the probability of working in low-skilled occupations at ages 20 and 25. In education systems that allow grade retention, compulsory education should have the explicit goal of keeping students in school until they earn a secondary degree, rather than just until a certain age.

Heavy Drinking by Occupation in Spain: Differences Between Weekdays and the Weekend.

Estimating occupational disparity in heavy drinking jointly for weekdays and the weekend may be misleading for prevention purposes, because reasons for disparity in both periods may differ. The main objective was to assess occupational disparity in heavy average drinking (HAD) by week period and sex.42,108 employees aged 16-64 were recruited from national surveys in Spain between 2011 and 2020. The outcome was HAD, defined as daily alcohol intake over 20g (men) or 10g (women). Occupation was classified in 15 categories. HAD adjusted prevalence ratios (HAD-aPRs) taking all occupations as reference, and relative adjusted excess prevalences (HAD-aEPs) comparing the weekend to weekdays in each occupation, were estimated using Poisson regression models with robust variance adjusted for sociodemographic and health covariates.The HAD-aPRs comparing each occupation with all occupations ranged 0.63-1.92 on weekdays and 0.65-1.45 on the weekend, with the highest aPRs on weekdays in construction, hospitality and primary-sector workers (1.92-1.62). The weekend-weekdays HAD-aEPs by occupation ranged 2.60-8.33, with the highest values in technicians/administrators, other professionals, teachers and health professionals (8.33-6.44). The global aEP was higher in women (6.04) than in men (3.92), especially in occupations just mentioned (8.70-11.73 in women vs. 3.64-6.32 in men).There was a considerable relative disparity in HAD risk between occupations on weekdays, with the highest risks in certain low-skilled occupations. Such disparity decreased on the weekend. The relative weekend increase in HAD risk was greater in women and in certain high-skilled occupations. This should be considered when designing prevention interventions on harmful drinking.

Examining the South African labour market during the COVID-19 lockdown period

ABSTRACT This study analysed the 2020 first quarter to 2022 second quarter waves of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) data and all five waves (2020–21) of the National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) data to examine the South African labour market outcomes during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The QLFS data showed that low-educated Africans aged 25–44 years and those involved in low skilled occupation categories were most vulnerable to job loss. The NIDS-CRAM data indicated that for those who still worked in February 2020, 51% worked all five waves, 14% worked in four waves and 9% worked in three waves. Only 0.5% and 1.8% turned out to be unemployed and inactive in all waves, respectively. For the February 2020 employed who lost their jobs and became unemployed in April 2020 (wave 1), 60% of them worked again but 22% remained unemployed in March 2021 (wave 5).

Dependent self-employed individuals: are they different from paid employees?

PurposeThis study focusses on dependent self-employment, which covers a situation where a person works for the same employer as a typical worker whilst on a self-employment contractual basis, i.e. without a traditional employment contract and without certain rights granted to “regular” employees.Design/methodology/approachThe research exploits the individual-level dataset of 35 European countries extracted from the 2017 edition of the European Labour Force Survey (EU LFS) and compares the characteristics of employees and dependent self-employed individuals. Methodologically, the study relies on the estimation of a multivariate logistic regression model.FindingsThe main hypothesis assuming that dependent self-employed work most often in low-skilled occupations was empirically supported. There was also a non-linear (u-shaped) relationship between the years of accumulated experience (with a turning point at 35 years) and the likelihood of being dependent self-employed. Other results showed that dependent self-employed are less likely to be women and the dependent self-employed are more likely born outside of the countries where the dependent self-employed participate in the labour markets.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the field by adopting a comparable definition of dependent self-employment and exploiting the recent theoretical support of The Work Precarity Framework. The phenomenon should still be addressed by policymakers and labour office representatives, aiming to protect, primarily, vulnerable lower-skilled workers. The ongoing research should study the longitudinal dimension of dependent self-employment with a focus on motivational aspects.

Mediation of lifestyle-associated variables on the association between occupation and incident cardiovascular disease

The main aim was to examine the association between occupational groups and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD), and to which extent associations are mediated by lifestyle-associated variables (cardiorespiratory fitness, smoking, BMI, exercise, and diet). A total of 304,702 participants (mean age 42.5 yrs., 47% women), who performed a health profile assessment in Sweden between 1982 and 2019, were included in the analyses. CVD incidence was obtained from national registers. All participants were free from CVD prior to the health profile assessment. Occupational group was defined using the Swedish Standard Classification of Occupations and analyzed separately (13 different occupational groups) as well as after aggregation into four occupational groups (white-collar high-skilled, white-collar low-skilled, blue-collar high-skilled and blue-collar low-skilled). Cardiorespiratory fitness, BMI, exercise, smoking, and diet were included as mediators and analyzed separately in single models and simultaneously in one multiple mediation model. All mediation analyses were adjusted for sex, age, length of education and calendar time. White-collar high-skilled was set as reference in all analyses. Blue-collar and low-skilled occupation had a higher risk of incident CVD compared to the reference. Cardiorespiratory fitness, BMI, exercise, smoking, and diet mediated 48% to 54% of the associations between reference and the other aggregated occupational groups. In the single model, the strongest mediators were cardiorespiratory fitness, smoking and BMI. In conclusion, blue-collar and low-skilled occupations had a significantly higher risk for incident CVD compared to white-collar high-skilled workers, with the association mediated to a large extent by variation in lifestyle-associated variables.

Occupations on the map: Using a super learner algorithm to downscale labor statistics.

Detailed and accurate labor statistics are fundamental to support social policies that aim to improve the match between labor supply and demand, and support the creation of jobs. Despite overwhelming evidence that labor activities are distributed unevenly across space, detailed statistics on the geographical distribution of labor and work are not readily available. To fill this gap, we demonstrated an approach to create fine-scale gridded occupation maps by means of downscaling district-level labor statistics, informed by remote sensing and other spatial information. We applied a super-learner algorithm that combined the results of different machine learning models to predict the shares of six major occupation categories and the labor force participation rate at a resolution of 30 arc seconds (~1x1 km) in Vietnam. The results were subsequently combined with gridded information on the working-age population to produce maps of the number of workers per occupation. The super learners outperformed (n = 6) or had similar (n = 1) accuracy in comparison to best-performing single machine learning algorithms. A comparison with an independent high-resolution wealth index showed that the shares of the four low-skilled occupation categories (91% of the labor force), were able to explain between 28% and 43% of the spatial variation in wealth in Vietnam, pointing at a strong spatial relationship between work, income and wealth. The proposed approach can also be applied to produce maps of other (labor) statistics, which are only available at aggregated levels.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Ride-hail Driver Reactions to Uber’s Covid-19 Response

While the COVID-19 pandemic has been a disruptive event for most workers, it has disproportionately affected low-skilled occupations; one such example are platform (gig) workers contracted by ride-hail companies (e.g., Uber, Lyft) to transport passengers. Grounded in psychological contract theory and platform labor research, the purpose of this study was to develop and test a conceptual model of ride-hail drivers’ affective and cognitive reactions to Uber’s (lack of) commitment to safe working conditions after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Employing a sample of Uber drivers from the United States (n = 202), we show that when drivers’ perceptions of Uber’s commitment to safety were unfavorable, they were more likely to experience feelings of psychological contract violation, which in turn increased their cynicism toward Uber and decreased trust. But while trust in Uber was negatively related to drivers’ intentions to withdraw from their occupation, organizational cynicism only predicted withdrawal intentions for those drivers who did not believe that they had many job alternatives available outside of platform work. We draw on the emerging literature on situational diversity and economic dependence among platform workers to discuss this unexpected finding.

Spouse bereavement and brain pathologies: A propensity score matching study.

Spouse bereavement is one of life's greatest stresses and has been suggested to trigger or accelerate cognitive decline and dementia. However, little information is available about the potential brain pathologies underlying the association between spouse bereavement and cognitive decline. We aimed to investigate that lifetime spouse bereavement is associated with in vivo human brain pathologies underlying cognitive decline. A total of 319 ever-married older adults between the ages of 61 and 90 years underwent comprehensive clinical assessments and multimodal brain imaging including [11 C] Pittsburgh compound B-positron emission tomography (PET), AV-1451 PET, [18 F] fluorodeoxyglucose-PET, and magnetic resonance imaging. Participants were classified as experiencing no spouse bereavement or spouse bereavement, and comparisons using propensity score matching (59 cases and 59 controls) were performed. Spouse bereavement was significantly associated with higher cerebral white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume compared with no spouse bereavement. Interaction and subsequent subgroup analyses showed that spouse bereavement was significantly associated with higher WMH in the older (>75 years) subgroup and among those with no- or low-skill occupations. In addition, spouse bereavement at 60 years or older affects WMH volume compared with no spouse bereavement, whereas spouse bereavement at younger than 60 years did not. No group differences were observed in other brain pathologies between spouse bereavement categories. The findings suggest that the spouse bereavement may contribute to dementia or cognitive decline by increasing cerebrovascular injury, particularly in older individuals and those with no- or low-skill occupations.

A natural experiment in social security as public health measure: Experiences of international students as temporary migrant workers during two Covid-19 lockdowns

What is the impact of social security on public health? And what mechanisms does it operate through? To answer these questions, we take advantage of the unique circumstances of temporary migrant workers two Covid-19 lockdowns in Australia – one in which they were provided with social security, and one in which they were not. We undertook 47 qualitative interviews with South Asian international students who had lost their jobs in two lockdowns in 2020–2021. In Australia, international students represent the largest group of a growing temporary migration program, with many working in low-skilled occupations, in conditions below legal minimum standards. We compare our findings to two models of social security: the self-insurance model and state-insurance model. In first lockdown, without social security, participants struggled to comply with public health orders because of the need to work for income, lack of housing suitable for isolation, and lack of medical leave. Participants tended to avoid testing, and to work while potentially contagious. Participants reported high levels of anxiety, depression and emotional distress caused by job loss and exclusion from an implicit social contract with the rest of Australian society. In contrast, during the second lockdown, where temporary migrants were provided social security payments, participants reported avoiding risky work, undertook Covid-19 testing many times, and self-isolated successfully. There was little evidence of emotional distress. Participants felt like a valued part of Australian society. These results suggest a self-insurance model of social security does not protect the physical and psychological health of vulnerable populations and can exacerbate the spread of communicable diseases. In contrast, state-insurance and social welfare payments to marginalised communities, particularly unemployment benefits and medical leave, are crucial public health policy levers for both protecting vulnerable populations and tackling outbreaks of communicable diseases such as Covid-19.

Community knowledge, attitude and behaviour towards indoor air quality: A national cross-sectional study in Singapore

Community levels of Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviour (KAB) toward indoor air quality (IAQ) are important considerations in designing effective measures to reduce poor health associated with indoor air pollutants. Few studies have examined what influences community KAB levels. Using a cross-sectional study design and a standardized questionnaire to collect from randomly selected adults in Singapore, we assessed the dependence of community knowledge and attitude with socio-demographic factors and the dependence of the behaviour with knowledge, attitude and socio-demographic factors using multivariable linear regression models. We compared pre- and post- attitude scores after IAQ knowledge sharing. Of 951 respondents, approximately 98 % had low scores for both knowledge (median: 1.0) and behaviour (median: 0.0) while 73.5 % had moderate scores for attitude (median: 35.0). Older age, post-secondary/tertiary education, higher income (≥$12,000), lower skilled occupations and less affluent housing were associated with lower knowledge levels. There was no significant association between attitude and behaviour. Higher attitude scores were observed in those with higher skilled occupations and in those living in their present residence for under 10 years. Income was inversely associated with behaviour scores, while those in higher skilled occupations and who had lived in their present residence for 10–19 years had significantly higher behaviour scores. Knowledge was positively associated with behaviour (beta = 0.23; 95 % CI = 0.18–0.28). Knowledge sharing by interviewers improved participant attitude scores (mean: +0.34, p < 0.001). Community segment-specific improvement strategies may advance community knowledge levels and behavioural responses towards IAQ.

Automation, Job Polarisation, and Structural Change

The increasing automation of tasks traditionally performed by labour is reshaping the relationship between skills and tasks of workers, unevenly affecting labour demand for low, middle, and high-skill occupations. To investigate the economy-wide response to automation, we designed a multisector Agent-Based Macroeconomic model accounting for workers’ heterogeneity in skills and tasks. The model features endogenous skill-biased technical change, and heterogeneous consumption preferences for goods and personal services across workers of different skill types. Following available empirical evidence, we model automation as a manufacturing-specific, productivity-enhancing, and skill-biased technological process. We show how automation can trigger a structural change process from manufactory to personal services, which eventually increases the share of high and low-skilled occupations, while reducing the share of middle-skilled ones. Following the literature, we label this dynamics as job polarisation throughout the paper. Finally, we study how labour market policies can feedback in the model dynamics. In our framework, a minimum wage policy (i) slows down the structural change process, (ii) boosts aggregate productivity, and (iii) accelerates the automation process, strengthening productivity growth within the manufacturing sector.

Women in Kazakhstan’s Energy Industries: Implications for Energy Transition

Kazakhstan has a relatively high level of overall gender development, as well as of female employment in its energy industries. Diverse views and backgrounds are necessary to address the challenges of curbing emissions in Kazakhstan, a major fossil fuel producer and exporter. However, our analysis of the Labor Force Survey indicates that female representation among energy sector managers and overall workforce has been falling over time. Moreover, we find that women in Kazakhstan’s coal mining, petroleum extraction, and power industries are concentrated in low-skilled and non-core occupations. Next, by analyzing data on labor compensation within energy occupations, we discover signs of persistent vertical discrimination, which may reduce incentives for women to upgrade their skills. Finally, we find that major shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may stall or reverse prior progress in increasing the energy sector’s gender diversity. Our findings contribute to raising gender awareness among the stakeholders in Kazakhstan’s energy sector in order to facilitate evidence-based gender mainstreaming.