Lunchtime Seminar - Underemployment among Mature-Age Workers in Australia

Underemployment Among Mature-Age Workers in Australia

Abstract: Underemployment is a serious and pervasive problem both in terms of its impact on those individuals affected, and for the economy as a whole. This presentation explores the patterns of underemployment for mature-age workers in Australia, a group for whom the prevalence of long spells of underemployment is especially marked. The research uses a 12-year panel dataset to analyse factors that contribute to a heightened risk of underemployment. Significant path dependency is revealed, whereby previous periods of underemployment increase the propensity towards further underemployment in the current period. Interestingly, most demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, except for the presence of older dependent children and a non-English-speaking foreign-born background for women, tend not to have any direct impact on the propensity for underemployment. These findings suggest the need for targeted interventions to triage these barriers aimed at highlighting the role of improved labour market attachment in promoting the well-being and economic contribution of mature-age workers.

About the Speaker

Dr Jinjing Li is an Associate Professor at the National Social and Economic Modelling Centre (NATSEM) at the University of Canberra, and an affiliated researcher at the United Nations University and Maastricht University in the Netherlands. His main research interest is policy modelling and evaluation using microsimulation techniques, with a particular focus on topics relating to the consequence of ageing, income inequality and distributional effects of public policies. Dr Li has developed a wide range of economic simulation models and worked with various governments departments and international organisations, including Australian Treasury, Hungarian Social Ministry, Luxembourg Social Security Directorate, Belgium Federal Planning Bureau, International Labor Organisation and many others.