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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1990

R.A. Wilson

Occupational structure has changed significantlyover time and further important changes areforecast by the year 1995. A substantial part ofthe change in occupational structure

Abstract

Occupational structure has changed significantly over time and further important changes are forecast by the year 1995. A substantial part of the change in occupational structure between 1971 and 1981 can be attributed to the shift in industrial structure. Despite the rising level of civilian employment in recent years, some, mainly blue‐collar occupations, continued to fall over the period 1981 to 1987. Others, however, showed significant growth (including professional, associate professional and managerial occupations), caused by both the changing occupational structure within industries and the changing industry mix. Such changes are likely to persist, bolstered by the continued expansion of the economy. The article reviews the possible extent of skill shortages in the nine main occupational groups. Shortages seem likely amongst managers and administrators, professional occupations and associate professional and technical occupations. They also appear to be persisting amongst craft and skilled manual workers despite declining levels of employment in this group. However, skill shortages seem much less likely amongst clerical and secretarial, personal and protective services, sales occupations, plant and machine operatives and other occupations.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 August 2014

Nina Neubecker

The purpose of this paper is to break down south-north migration along both the skill and the occupational dimension and thus to distinguish and compare several types of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to break down south-north migration along both the skill and the occupational dimension and thus to distinguish and compare several types of south-north migration and brain drain.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents south-north migration rates by occupational category at two distinct levels of disaggregation according to International Standard Classification of Occupations 1988 (ISCO-88). The data sets combine information about the labor market outcomes of immigrants in Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries around the year 2000 provided by the Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries by the OECD with employment data for the developing migrant-sending countries from the International Labour Organization.

Findings

The incidence of south-north migration was highest among Professionals, one of the two occupational categories generally requiring tertiary education, and among clerks and legislators, senior officials and managers. At the more disaggregated level, physical, mathematical and engineering science (associate) professionals, life science and health (associate) professionals, as well as other (associate) professionals exhibited significantly larger brain drain rates than teaching (associate) professionals. The data also suggest non-negligible occupation-education mismatches due to the imperfect transferability of skills acquired through formal education because south-north migrants with a university degree worked more often in occupational categories requiring less than tertiary education compared to OECD natives. The employment shares of most types of professionals and technicians and associate professionals, as well as of clerks and corporate managers were significantly smaller in the migrant-sending countries compared to the receiving countries.

Originality/value

The constructed data sets constitute the first comprehensive data sets on south-north migration by ISCO-88 major and sub-major occupational category for cross-sections of, respectively, 91 and 17 developing countries of emigration.

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1976

W.K. Norris

A large number of topics could legitimately be included under the umbrella title of this article. However, the coverage inevitably reflects the writer's interests, and the paper…

Abstract

A large number of topics could legitimately be included under the umbrella title of this article. However, the coverage inevitably reflects the writer's interests, and the paper thus examines the effects of technological change on employment, earnings, and the structure of labour markets. The article has four main sections. The first examines changes in the occupational structure of employment and discusses the structuralist hypothesis that technical progress shifts the occupational demand for labour in such a way as to create permanent unemployment. The second section looks at how technical progress has affected employment and earnings at the level of the industry. The third section takes up the notion of the dual labour market and discusses the extent to which innovation has been an important force generating divisions in the labour market. Finally the implications for government policy are examined.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2012

Anastasia Klimova and Russell Ross

The purpose of this paper is to examine trends in gender inequalities in the Russian labour market between 1994 and 2001, the early period of the transition to the market economy…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine trends in gender inequalities in the Russian labour market between 1994 and 2001, the early period of the transition to the market economy from the old Soviet Union.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines gender occupational segregation using the dataset from a nationally representative longitudinal survey of Russian households, the Russian Labour Market Survey. The occupational segregation index measure developed by Karmel and Maclachlan, known as the KM Index, is applied and extended by decomposing the index into several components.

Findings

The KM Index declined over this period, indicating a reduction in the extent of gender inequality, However, the decomposing of the KM index shows that, in contrast to previous research, the decrease in segregation within individual occupations contributed most of the overall fall in gender segregation. Changes in the overall occupational structure and an increase in female employment contributed, albeit marginally, to an increase in segregation.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the changes which have continued in Russia since 2001, these research results may lack applicability to current emerging economic circumstances in Russia. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further using data for the period 2005 to 2015 once the data become available.

Practical implications

The paper provides rigorous estimates of the trends in gender inequalities at an important period in Russia's economic development and serves as a benchmark for future analysis.

Originality/value

This paper provides new detail on the workings of the Russian labour market during the period of transition and as such provides a base against which changes in gender inequalities since 2001 can be measured.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 39 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1999

Nicholas P. Glytsos

This paper investigates the impact of demographic deterioration on Greek labour supply, and the possible labour shortages that it may entail. Through a disaggregated approach by…

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of demographic deterioration on Greek labour supply, and the possible labour shortages that it may entail. Through a disaggregated approach by occupation and region, the paper predicts, for the year 2000, the new entry to and exit from the labour force, as well as labour requirements. Various methods are used, such as temporal shifts of youth and workers by age brackets for predicting net demographic additions to the labour force, shift and share analysis for decomposing employment changes, and the manpower requirements approach for predicting employment through output and productivity projections. The occupational and regional predictions are mostly done by top‐down calculations. Finally, a formula is invented for measuring the occupational and regional intensity of demographic deficits. Despite the predicted demographic deficits in almost all regions of the country, immigrants and other additional workers to the job market will fill the demographic gap, but many of them will also remain unemployed.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 26 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2003

G. Briscoe and R. Wilson

This paper uses annual data from successive UK Labour Force Surveys to model occupational trends over the period 1981 to 1999. Time series models are developed for some nine…

1025

Abstract

This paper uses annual data from successive UK Labour Force Surveys to model occupational trends over the period 1981 to 1999. Time series models are developed for some nine occupational groups across 17 industrial sectors. Various economic variables, such as output, wages, unemployment, export and import shares are combined with different technology trend and interactive dummy terms to identify the most significant determinants of the changing demand for occupational skills. Data sets are pooled to overcome problems of shortages of degrees of freedom and to assist in the identification of the most statistically robust relationships. This methodology extends the analysis of occupational employment shares beyond the simple extrapolative approaches that have traditionally been applied.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 24 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 March 2019

Ian Douglas Miles, Veronika Belousova and Nikolay Chichkanov

The literature on knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) shows them to be major innovators; this is confirmed with recent data, which the authors use to examine the various…

1408

Abstract

Purpose

The literature on knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) shows them to be major innovators; this is confirmed with recent data, which the authors use to examine the various types of innovation that KIBS undertake. The implications for employment and work in highly innovative industries are important topics for analysis, not least because we are in a period where dramatic claims are being made as to the implications of new technologies for professional occupations. Thus, this paper aims to address major debates and conclusions concerning innovation patterns in KIBS and the evolving structures of professional and other work in these industries.

Design/methodology/approach

This essay combines literature review with presentation and discussion of statistics that throw light on the patterns of innovation that characterise KIBS. The authors also consider data that concern trends in the organisation of work in these industries; while the focus is mainly on KIBS firms, they also pay some attention to KIBS-like work in other sectors. Even though KIBS are distinctive industries in modern economies, these analyses can be related to more general studies of, and forecasts about, changes in work organisation.

Findings

The authors show that innovation patterns and employment structures vary substantially across different types of KIBS, with the distinction between technological, professional and creative KIBS proving to be useful for capturing these differences. The authors are also able to demonstrate important long- and medium-term trends in the structure and activities of the KIBS industries. In particular, data clearly demonstrate the increasing share of professional as against associate and clerical workers in most KIBS. Evidence also suggests that polarisation trends across the economy are mirrored, and in some cases amplified, in KIBS. The future prospects for employment in KIBS, and for professional work in particular, are seen to involve multiple factors, which together may bring about substantial change.

Research limitations/implications

The study involves literature review and industry-level statistical analysis. Future work would benefit from firm-level analysis and validation and explication of results via consultation with practitioners and users of KIBS. Some puzzling variations across countries and sectors will need to be explored with national and sectoral experts.

Practical implications

Research into KIBS activities, and their future, should make more use of the extensive statistics on employment and other structural features of the industries that have become available in recent years. KIBS firms and practitioners will need to take account of the forces for change that are liable to restructure their activities.

Originality/value

The literature on KIBS has been concentrated on a rather narrow range of issues, while analysis of the current contributions and future development of the industries requires attention to a wider range of topics. This paper suggests how these topics may be investigated and their implications explored and presents results of enquiries along these lines.

Details

foresight, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6689

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1990

Derek L. Bosworth

The most highly qualified occupational group,comprising individuals who work primarily inactivities involving high levels of technical andorganisational skills, is focused on. It…

Abstract

The most highly qualified occupational group, comprising individuals who work primarily in activities involving high levels of technical and organisational skills, is focused on. It is a group which, overall, has shown remarkable growth in recent years. Certain specialisms, such as IT skills, experienced relatively buoyant labour markets which even transcended the effects of the last major recession. In the main, such skills were associated with unusual demand conditions, caused, for example, by the diffusion of microelectronics and by the changes in company organisation and management. Since the recession, specific skill shortages have been transformed into more general shortfalls. Demand for individuals with high levels of formal education and training is expected to continue growing. Supply is not expected to keep pace, a situation which will be aggravated by the downturn in the youth cohort. There are other significant events on the horizon which make the market outcome more uncertain, such as the movement to the Single European Market in 1992, although none of these factors seems likely to reverse the conclusion of persistent shortages.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1998

M. Akhter Hamid and Mohammad Alauddin

Bangladesh has experienced a rapid expansion of shrimp farming in the coastal regions in recent years. The increase in both area and production has been influenced by the…

1059

Abstract

Bangladesh has experienced a rapid expansion of shrimp farming in the coastal regions in recent years. The increase in both area and production has been influenced by the financial profit motive of rural farmers coupled with high international demands for shrimps and ecological congeniality for shrimp aquaculture. In the past the traditional farming systems in the coastal belts of Bangladesh centred around rice crop. In contrast, the introduction of shrimp aquaculture on a larger/commercial scale has developed shrimp‐based farming systems. Shrimp farming itself is less labour‐intensive than rice cultivation, especially when extensive methods of shrimp culture are practised. Hence, it has reduced on‐farm employment opportunities for rural landless. Nevertheless, shrimp production requires a substantial volume of labour in off‐farm ancillary activities, namely shrimp fry collection, shrimp feed collection, and shrimp processing and packaging for export. Most of this off‐farm work is performed primarily by rural women. This process has engendered a major shift in rural employment and occupational structure in the shrimp belt. Shrimp production has enabled rural women to earn more cash income and to become more active income‐earning members in rural households. While they used to contribute to their share of agricultural work in the homestead before the shrimp cultivation was introduced, now they work mostly outside their homes. This has forced them to stay outside of their homes for longer hours, which limits their time for household duties, more specifically looking after children. All these factors together have implications for the socio‐economic changes in the rural society. The findings that emerge indicate that a range of factors including rural power structure, centre‐periphery issue, rural‐urban migration determine the pattern and extent of employment. It is unclear whether greater employment opportunities for rural women have empowered them or have helped extricate them from various forms of discrimination and exploitation.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 25 no. 2/3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2002

Daniel Hiebert

In the last 30 years or so we have seen a proliferation of research projects on immigrants and non‐white minorities in the labour market (labour market segmentation) and as…

1576

Abstract

In the last 30 years or so we have seen a proliferation of research projects on immigrants and non‐white minorities in the labour market (labour market segmentation) and as entrepreneurs (ethnic entrepreneurialism). Each of these literatures helps us understand the nature of immigrant and minority participation in the labour market, but each only offers a partial view. In this paper, I bring these topics together in an empirical investigation of the relationship between ethnic labour market segmentation and ethnic entrepreneurialism in Canada, using 1996 census data. I show that there is a close correspondence between the niches where immigrants and minorities find work, and those where they become entrepreneurs. Immigrants who are drawn to niches that offer few opportunities for self‐employment have low rates of entrepreneurship and, conversely, those who are over‐represented in niches with considerable scope for self‐employment are inclined to establish their own businesses. This shows that the propensity for self‐employment is, to an important degree, determined in the regular labour market. Therefore, entrepreneurship should not be seen as an intrinsically cultural phenomenon (i.e. that certain groups are “naturally” entrepreneurial), but instead as arising out of the opportunity structure associated with wage and salary labour.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 8 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

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