Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T12:55:52.708Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Declining Job Quality in Australia: Another Hidden Cost of Unemployment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

John Burgess  and
Alex de Ruyter
John Burgess
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Newcastle, Australia
Alex de Ruyter
Affiliation:
Department of Commerce, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The deterioration of the labour market associated with high and sustained rates of unemployment leads to forms of hidden unemployment and underemployment as well as a systematic decline in job quality. The ability of employers to reduce job quality is enhanced through conditions of persistent excess labour supply. In turn the State can challenge and erode conditions and standards that sustain job quality. Hence, falling job quality is another of the hidden costs of unemployment. This paper sets out the decline in job quality in Australia as manifested by the growth in non-standard employment arrangements and by the systematic erosion of the conditions associated with the standard employment model.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , December 2000 , pp. 246 - 269
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2000

Footnotes

**

The authors would like to thank the editors and referees for their assistance.

References

ACIRRT (1998), Australia at Work. Prentice Hall, Sydney.Google Scholar
Allan, C. (1996), Labour Utilisation in Queensland Hospitals. Ph.D. Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce and Administration, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (1997), Job Quality and Churning of the Pool of Unemployed. Catalogue 6293.0.00.003Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (1997), SEUPDATE. Nos 2, 3, Canberra.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (1998), Job Seekers Who Found Part-time Work: A Longitudinal Perspective. Survey of Employment and Unemployment Patterns, Working Paper 2/98, Canberra.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (1998), Underemployed Workers. Catalogue 6265.0Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (1997), Owner Managers of Unincorporated Enterprises. Catalogue 6203.0. The Labour Force, July.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2000), Forms of Employment. Catalogue 6359.0.Google Scholar
Bell, S. (2000), The Unemployment Crisis and Economic Policy, in Bell, S. (Ed), The Unemployment Crisis in Australia: Which Way Out? Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, 1–20.Google Scholar
Biddle, D. (1998), Labour Market Programs in Australia. Back to the Future Conference: Labour Market and Industrial Relations Policies of the Howard Government. University of Newcastle.Google Scholar
Biddle, D. and Burgess, J. (1999), The National Jobs Network, Contestability and the Public Sector, in Teicher, J. (Ed), Public Sector Industrial Relations: Australian and International Perspectives. National Key Centre for Industrial Relations Monograph no. 12, Monash University, Melbourne, 194–219.Google Scholar
Brosnan, P. (1996), Labour Markets and Social Deprivation. Labor and Industry, 7, 2, 3–34.Google Scholar
Burgess, J. (1990), Non-Employee Status in Australia: Trends and Issues. Australian Bulletin of Labour. 16, 4, 233–253.Google Scholar
Burgess, J. (1994), Non-Standard and Precarious Employment: A Review of Australian Workforce Data. Labour Economics and Productivity, 2, 2, 118–129.Google Scholar
Burgess, J., Campbell, I. (1994), Moving Towards a Deregulated Labour market: Part-time Employment and the Recession in Australia. International Journal of Employment Studies, 1, 2, 192–211.Google Scholar
Burgess, J., Campbell, I. (1998a), Casual Employment in Australia: Growth, Characteristics, a Bridge or a Trap? Economic and Labour Relations Review, 9, 1, 31–54.Google Scholar
Burgess, J., Campbell, I. (1998b), The Nature amd Dimensions of Precarious Employment in Australia. Labour and Industry, 8, 3, 5–22.Google Scholar
Burgess, J., Gleisner, J., Rasmussen, E. (1996), Male Part-time Employment in Australia and New Zealand: A Comparative Analysis. International Journal of Employment Studies, 4, 1, 95–114.Google Scholar
Burgess, J., Mitchell, W., Watts, M. (1999a), Unemployment: Concept, Measurement and Interpretation. Australian Social Research Conference. University of NSW, Sydney.Google Scholar
Burgess, J., Mitchell, W. and Watts, M. (1999b), The Labour Market Since Howard, in Kriesler, P. (Ed), The Australian Economy. Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 181–200.Google Scholar
Burgess, J., Mitchell, W., O’Brien, D., Watts, M. (1998), Unemployment: Promises, Policies and Progress. Labour and Industry, 9, 2, 103–122.Google Scholar
Burgess, J., Mitchell, W., O’Brien, D. and Watts, M. (1999), Work for the Dole in Australia and New Zealand: A Critical assessment, in Lee, J., Probert, B. and Watts, R. (Eds), Work in the New Economy: Policies and Programs. Centre for Applied Social Research, RMIT University, Melbourne, 81–101.Google Scholar
Burgess, J. and Strachan, G. (1999), The Expansion in Non Standard Employment in Australia and the Extension of Employer’s Control, in Felstead, A. and Jewson, N. (Eds), Global Trends in Flexible Labour. Macmillan Business, London, 121–140.Google Scholar
Caire, G. (1989), Atypical Wage Employment in France, in Rodgers, and Rodgers, (Eds), Precarious Jobs in Labour Market Regulation: The Growth of Atypical Employment in Western Europe, ILO, Geneva, pp. 75–108.Google Scholar
Campbell, I. (1993), Labour Market Flexibility in Australia. Labour and Industry, 5, 3, 1–32.Google Scholar
Campbell, I. (1996a), ‘Casual Employment, Labour Regulation and Australian Trade Unions’, Journal of Industrial Relations 38, 4, 571–599.Google Scholar
Campbell, I. (1996b), ‘The Growth of Casual Employment in Australia: Towards an Explanation’, in Teicher, J. (Ed), Non-Standard Employment in Australia and New Zealand, NKCIR Monograph No. 9, Melbourne, NKCIR, Monash University, 43–107.Google Scholar
Campbell, I. (1997), Beyond Unemployment: The Challenge of Increased Precariousness in Employment. Just Policy, No. 11, pp. 4–20.Google Scholar
Campbell, I., Burgess, J. (2001), Casual Employment in Australia and Temporary Employment in Europe: Developing a Cross national Comparison. Work, Employment and Society. Forthcoming.Google Scholar
Campbell, I. and Mathews, J. (1998), Researching the Model of Standard Working Time in Australia: Theoretical Preliminaries. Harbridge, R., Gadd, C. and Crawford, A. (Eds), Current Research in Industrial Relations. Proceedings of the 12th AIRAANZ Conference, Wellington, 477–485.Google Scholar
Cappelli, P. (1995), Rethinking Employment. British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 563–602.Google Scholar
Commonwealth of Australia (2000), Budget Statement No 2, 2000/01.Google Scholar
De Ruyter, A. (1999), Casual Employment, Job Seekers and Labour Market Flows, in Lee, J., Probert, B. and Watts, R. (Eds), Work in the New Economy: Policies and Programs. Centre for Applied Social Research, RMIT University, Melbourne, 165–76.Google Scholar
De Ruyter, A. (2000), Recent Developments in Nursing and Allied Health Labour Use Practices in Australian Acute Hospitals: A Private and Public Sector Comparison. Paper presented for 15th Annual Employment Research Conference Cardiff Business School, September 2000, Cardiff, UK.Google Scholar
De Ruyter, A., Burgess, J. (1999), Global Aspects of Part-time Employment Growth. National Employment Conference. Cardiff Business School.Google Scholar
De Ruyter, A., Burgess, J. (2000), Job Insecurity: Broadening the Debate. Australian Journal of Social Issues. Forthcoming.Google Scholar
Felstead, A. and Jewson, N. (1999), Flexible Labour and Non-Standard Employment: An Agenda of Issues, in Felstead, A. and Jewson, N. (Eds), Global Trends in Flexible Labour. Macmillan Business, London, 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hakim, C. (1990), Core and Periphery in Employer;s Labour Use Strategies: Evidence from the 1987 ELUS Survey. Work, Employment and Society, 4, 2, 157–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kalleberg, A., Rasell, E., Hudson, K., Webster, D., Reskin, B., Cassirer, N., Appelbaum, E. (1997), Non Standard Work, Substandard Jobs. Economic Policy Institute, Washington.Google Scholar
Langmore, J., Quiggin, J. (1994), Work for All: Full Employment in the Nineties. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Liberal Party of Australia (1996), Pathways to Real Jobs: the Federal Coalition’s Employment and Training Policy. Melbourne.Google Scholar
Mishel, L. and Schmitt, J. (Eds) (1995), Beware the US Model: Jobs and Wages in a Deregulated Economy. Economic Policy Institute, Washington, 15–29.Google Scholar
Murtough, G., Waite, M. (2000), The Growth in Non Traditional Jobs: Are Jobs Becoming More Precarious? Productivity Commission. Melbourne.Google Scholar
National Board of Employment, Education and Training (NBEET, 1992), Disadvantaged Job Seekers: Casual, Part-time and Temporary Work. Report No. 18, Canberra.Google Scholar
OECD (1991), Employment Outlook. Paris.Google Scholar
OECD (1994), The Jobs Study. Paris.Google Scholar
OECD (1996) Employment Outlook, July 1996, Paris, OECD.Google Scholar
Ranald, P. (1999), The Impact on Employees of the Competitive Tendering of Employment Services, in Teicher, J. (Ed), Public Sector Industrial Relations: Australian and International Perspectives. National Key Centre for Industrial Relations Monograph No. 12, Monash University, Melbourne, 232–256.Google Scholar
Rodgers, G. (1989), Precarious Work in Western Europe: the State of the Debate. in Rodgers, G. and Rodgers, J. (Ed), Precarious Jobs in Labour Market Regulation. International Labour Institute, Geneva, 1–16.Google Scholar
Standing, G. (1993) ‘Labor Regulation in an Era of Fragmented Flexibility’, in Buechtemann, C. (Ed), Employment Security and Labor Market Behavior: Interdisciplinary Approaches and International Evidence, Cornell, IILR Report no. 23, Ithaca, ILR Press, 425–441.Google Scholar
Standing, G. (1999), Global Labour Flexibility. Macmillan, London.Google Scholar
Stricker, P., Sheehan, P. (1981), Hidden Unemployment: the Australian Experience. University of Melbourne Press, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Thurow, L. (1989), Wage Competition and Job Competition, in Whitfield, K. (Ed), Contemporary Issues in Labour Economics. Harper, Sydney.Google Scholar
Toomey, S. (2000), Casual Work Gains Momentum. Weekend Australian. June 10–11.Google Scholar
Vandenheuval, A., Wooden, M. (1995), Self-Employed Contractors in Australia: How Many? Who are They? Journal of Industrial Relations, 37, 3, 263–280.Google Scholar
Watts, M. (2000), The Dimensions and Costs of Unemployment in Australia, in Bell, S. (Ed), The Unemployment Crisis in Australia: Which Way Out? Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, 21–48.Google Scholar
Watts, M., Burgess, J. (1999), The Polarisation of Earnings and Hours in Australia Under a Decentralised Industrial relations System: the Lessons for Economic Policy. Conference on Labour Market Regulation: Between Co-operation and Competition. Aalborg University, Denmark.Google Scholar
Wooden, M. (1997), The Labour Market for Young Australians. National Institute of Labour Studies, Flinders University of South Australia.Google Scholar