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The OECD produces annual reviews of Member and selected non-Member countries’ economies. Each issue provides an analysis of developments in the subject country, special reports on topics of current interest, and extensive statistical information. This 2006 economic survey of Australia presents a comprehensive overview of the Australian economy and contains a special feature on fiscal relations across levels of government. The survey is presented in the following sections: The short-term challenge: riding the commodities rollercoaster; Long-term structural challenges; Fiscal relations across levels of government; The need for further reforms to infrastructure services; Reforming industrial relations; Improving incentives to work. The survey concludes that a series of structural reforms and the introduction of a robust macroeconomic framework have ensured Australia’s stability during recent testing economic times. These reforms have also boosted productivity and living standards. The challenge will be to sustain this performance, particularly in the face of population ageing, which will require progress in the following areas: improving fiscal relations across levels of government; boosting productivity growth; and raising labour market flexibility and supply.

The 2004 survey is indexed at TD/TNC 81.362, the 2002-2003 survey at TD/TNC 73.418 and the 2000-2001 survey at TD/TNC 67.126. Show less

The 2019 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook presents new evidence on changes in job stability, underemployment and the share of well-paid jobs, and discusses the policy implications of these changes with respect to how technology, globalisation, population ageing, and other megatrends are transforming the labour market in OECD countries. The report discusses how labour market regulation might be used to extend rights and protections beyond standard employees, as well as to rebalance bargaining power between employers and workers. It analyses how collective bargaining and social dialogue can be mobilised to address emerging challenges in the labour market, looking at the role of government, social partners and new forms of collective organisation. The role of adult learning is also addressed, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable groups. And finally the report also assesses challenges for social protection policies, presenting evidence on the support gaps affecting different types of worker, and discussing reform avenues for preserving and strengthening the key stabilising role of social protection systems.

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The Global Deal for Decent Work and Inclusive Growth is a global multi-stakeholder partnership whose objective is to jointly address the challenges in the global labour market and enable all people to benefit from globalisation. The fundamental idea at the heart of the Global Deal is to highlight and promote the potential of sound industrial relations and enhanced social dialogue as a means to foster decent work, quality jobs, and increased productivity - and by extension greater equality and inclusive growth. It is conceived as a concrete input to the UN 2030 Agenda and is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This report is the result of a collaborative work between the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Global Deal Support Unit, which has been hosted by the OECD since 2019.

The report emphasises the role that social dialogue has to play in promoting lifelong learning and skills development, and in addressing the changes and challenges brought about by the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 crisis, as well as the benefits of involving social partners in adult-learning systems to prepare for the future of work. The report shows how Global Deal partners (64 partners have made 99 voluntary commitments as of September 2020) have engaged in efforts to promote and strengthen social dialogue. Chapter one, on managing and recovering from COVID-19, explores how social dialogue has been used as an instrument to support the recovery from the crisis. Chapter two focuses on social dialogue and the promotion of lifelong learning and skills development, which are fundamental enablers of decent work, productivity and sustainability. Chapter three explores the role of social partners in adult-learning systems. In particular, it looks at the role that trade unions and employers' organisations play in anticipating skills need, establishing joint priorities in adult-learning strategies, facilitating access to lifelong learning (including by fostering a learning environment at work), financing training and ensuring the quality of training. The chapter combines quantitative and qualitative evidence using OECD analysis and presents examples of programmes and initiatives where the social partners have played a central role. It describes existing and emerging challenges for adult-learning systems - how the so-called megatrends - technological progress, globalisation, environmental change and population ageing - are altering the skills required to enter and progress in the labour market. Finally, chapter four reviews the voluntary commitments made by Global Deal partners. It considers the types of commitments made and the actions taken by different types of partners, with a view to highlighting areas of progress and showcasing good practices that could inspire reforms or improvements, based on the needs, practices and traditions of different stakeholders.

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This 2009 review of Israeli labour market and social policy finds that Israel has enjoyed strong economic growth over the last decade, but the benefits of this are being distributed unevenly. Poverty rates are higher than in any OECD country, which reflects the deep social and economic divides in Israeli society. On one side, there is the general Jewish population with poverty and employment rates similar to those of OECD countries. On the other, there are Arabs and ultra-Orthodox Jews, or Haredim, who have large families, poor educational outcomes and low employment rates. As a result, just over half of Arab and Haredi families live in poverty. Almost half of all children entering primary school in Israel come from one of these two groups, so profound policy changes are needed to prevent future generations of Arabs and Haredim from being scarred by the disadvantages these population groups face today. Tackling the root causes of such deep inequality would greatly enhance the dynamism of the Israeli economy. Greater investment to help workers improve their skills is urgently needed. Welfare-to-work programmes need to be restructured and extended, including by reducing child benefits paid to families who are able to work but do not and by sharply increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit to tackle in-work poverty more effectively. And access to means-tested income supports for the neediest should be improved. Israel has failed to enforce many aspects of its labour legislation, contributing to poor employment conditions for many resident, cross-border and foreign low-income workers. Rules to overcome discrimination against all workers need to be enforced, and the illegal hiring and employment of temporary foreign workers need to be stamped out. Progress has been made in many of these areas. New legislation and initiatives have been introduced. The challenge is how to make reform work in practice. The consequences of not doing so would be devastating.

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The 2018 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook reviews labour market trends and prospects in OECD countries. Chapter one presents recent labour market developments. Wage growth remains sluggish due to low inflation expectations, weak productivity growth and adverse trends in low-pay jobs. Chapter two looks at the decline of the labour share and shows that this is partially related to the emergence of 'superstar' firms, which invest massively in capital-intensive technologies. Chapter three investigates the role of collective bargaining institutions for labour market performance. Systems that co-ordinate wages across sectors are associated with better employment outcomes, but firm-level adjustments of sector-level agreements are sometimes required to avoid adverse effects on productivity. Chapter four examines the role of policy to facilitate the transition towards new jobs of workers who were dismissed for economic reasons, underlying the need of early interventions in the unemployment spell. Chapter five analyses jobseekers' access to unemployment benefits and shows that most jobseekers do not receive unemployment benefits and coverage has often been falling since the Great Recession. Chapter six investigates the reason why the gender gap in labour income increases over the working life, stressing the role of the lower professional mobility of women around childbirth.

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Australia has been one of the first OECD countries to introduce market-type mechanisms into job-broking and related employment services. In 1998, the Job Network was introduced in Australia to provide job matching and other employment assistance services for the unemployed. Under the new system, these services were subcontracted to hundreds of private and community organisations. The remaining government agency offers services on the same terms and conditions as the private providers and has kept a relatively small share in the market. The government has also decided to maintain only the most cost-effective active labour market programs and has increased emphasis on the principle of 'mutual obligation' in the benefit system where some unemployed people are required to undertake some form of work in return for their benefits. These innovative reforms are part of those introduced in Australia across a wide range of labour market programs along with extensive reforms to the industrial relations system to promote enterprise bargaining. This publication provides a detailed analysis of industrial relations and labour market policies in Australia with a particular focus on recent insights gathered from three years of experience in the operation of a contestable employment services market. It begins with a summary and conclusions section and then provides an overview of the Australian labour market and the institutions involved in labour market policy and employment services. Issues related to the Job Network, placement, unemployment and related benefits, labour market programs, workplace relations, and wage determination are then examined. Annexes contain information on payment mechanisms for competitive employment service provision and three major areas of labour market programs (training and youth programs, indigenous programs, and disability programs). Show less

The Global Deal for Decent Work and Inclusive Growth is a global multi-stakeholder partnership whose objective is to jointly address the challenges in the global labour market and enable all people to benefit from globalisation. The fundamental idea at the heart of the Global Deal is to highlight and promote the potential of sound industrial relations and enhanced social dialogue as a means to foster decent work, quality jobs, and increased productivity - and by extension greater equality and inclusive growth. It is conceived as a concrete input to the UN 2030 Agenda and is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Global Deal was initiated at the behest of the Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven, and developed in cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The partnership was launched in September 2016 and now brings together around 90 different partners representing governments, businesses and employers' organisations, trade unions and civil society. The rationale behind the Global Deal is that cooperation between these stakeholders is a key element for coming to terms with some of the complex challenges that impede human prosperity and well-being. The Global Deal aims to facilitate and advance that cooperation by providing political impetus, scaling up existing processes, promoting evidence-based research and highlighting the opportunities for 'win-win-win' gains that mutually benefit workers, businesses and governments.

This flagship report is meant to be a recurring report that will be published every other year and serve as the main tool for following up on the Global Deal partnership. It will report on the partnership's developments and outcomes. The purpose is also to provide an international portrait of the foundations, trends and challenges connected to social dialogue and sound industrial relations. The report aims to identify challenges, promote exchange of ideas and experiences, discuss joint projects and solutions and provide solid evidence to policy-makers and stakeholders. Furthermore, the report demonstrates the potential effects of social dialogue and highlights the Global Deal partnership as a vehicle for accelerating change and as a tool for delivering on the SDGs.

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The 2023 edition of the OECD's employment outlook series examines the latest labour market developments in OECD countries. It focuses, in particular, on the evolution of labour demand and widespread shortages, as well as on wage developments in times of high inflation and related policies. It also takes stock of the current evidence on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the labour market.

Progress in AI has been such that, in many areas, its outputs have become almost indistinguishable from that of humans, and the landscape continues to change quickly, as recent developments in large language models have shown. This, combined with the falling costs of developing and adopting AI systems, suggests that OECD countries may be on the verge of a technological revolution that could fundamentally change the workplace. While there are many potential benefits from AI, there are also significant risks that need to be urgently addressed, despite the uncertainty about the short- to medium-term evolution of AI. This edition investigates how to get the balance right in addressing the possible negative effects of AI on labour market outcomes while not stifling its benefits.

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This examination of labour and employment policy in Australia was undertaken by the OECD at the request of the Australian Government. It is part of a series of country reviews designed to provide an opportunity for all OECD countries to benefit from each other's experience in this field. The examiners visited Australia in 1973 to discuss policy formulation around aspects identified as important by the Australian Government. The report is structured around these major areas: country background; forces confronting Australia in a world of change; labour utilisation in the context of economic growth; and a selected approach to Australian problems related to labour and industrial relations policies. A background paper, prepared by the then Commonwealth Department of Labour, was prepared to inform this discussion. Show less