Search Results

The OECD annual report on jobs and employment in OECD countries reviews recent trends, policy developments, and prospects. The 2021 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 145.163] focusses on the labour market implications of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 crisis. Country notes are available for Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In some countries, employers used job retention programmes to cut hours while allowing workers to keep their pay and jobs; there, it is likely that the full impact of the pandemic is yet to be felt. In others, there have been unprecedented increases in unemployment, but many workers will return to their jobs (or to new ones) as economies re-open and activity picks up.

The initial impact of the COVID-19 crisis was relatively modest in Korea due to the fast and widespread campaign of test, tracking and tracing that contributed to contain the spread of the virus. The unemployment rate in Korea started to rise from 3.4 per cent in February 2020 and reached 5.4 per cent in January 2021 due to enhanced distancing measures at the end of 2020. After that, it gradually declined to 3.8 per cent by May 2021. In Korea, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a greater impact on vulnerable groups, such as non-regular workers and young people. In 2020, the number of temporary and daily workers decreased by 6.5 per cent and 7.1 per cent respectively, while the number of regular workers increased by 2.1 per cent. The employment rate for young people (aged 15-29) also fell in 2020 by 1.3 percentage points compared to the previous year, showing the largest decline among all age groups.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website and publication. Show less

The [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 crisis created a sudden need for businesses and their employees to start or increase working from home. By facilitating teleworking from home, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been crucial in allowing economic activities to endure and enabling a significant portion of individuals to continue earning incomes. This brief presents key information on how teleworking evolved during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), with a particular focus on timely and high frequency data published by national statistical organisations, as well as evidence on how telework may evolve in the future.

Published abstract. Show less

The OECD annual report on jobs and employment in OECD countries reviews recent trends, policy developments, and prospects. The 2021 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 145.163] focusses on the labour market implications of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 crisis. Country notes are available for Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In some countries, employers used job retention programmes to cut hours while allowing workers to keep their pay and jobs; there, it is likely that the full impact of the pandemic is yet to be felt. In others, there have been unprecedented increases in unemployment, but many workers will return to their jobs (or to new ones) as economies re-open and activity picks up.

At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, Japan managed to avoid so-called lockdown restrictions and thus total hours worked dropped rather modestly by 9 per cent over the year to the second quarter of 2020, compared with the OECD average of 15.3 per cent. Workers in low-paying occupations have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. During the last quarter of 2020, total hours worked by all persons in employment were only 2 per cent below the pre-crisis level in Japan. However, the decline in hours worked by workers in low-paying occupations was more than double (4.3 per cent), whereas those by workers in high-paying occupations actually increased by 0.6 per cent. What is more, this increase in hours worked was driven by job creation.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website and publication. Show less

The OECD annual report on jobs and employment in OECD countries reviews recent trends, policy developments, and prospects. The 2021 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 145.163] focusses on the labour market implications of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 crisis. Country notes are available for Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In some countries, employers used job retention programmes to cut hours while allowing workers to keep their pay and jobs; there, it is likely that the full impact of the pandemic is yet to be felt. In others, there have been unprecedented increases in unemployment, but many workers will return to their jobs (or to new ones) as economies re-open and activity picks up.

The German job retention scheme (Kurzarbeit) has supported many jobs across the economy, generally providing high levels of income protection for workers, also thanks to collective agreements that have increased replacement rates in specific sectors. During the first pandemic wave in April/May 2020, 15.5 per cent of dependent workers in Germany were on Kurzarbeit. One year into the pandemic, in February/March 2021, the number had shrunk to 8.4 per cent of workers. The scheme is a good example of how job retention support can be coupled with measures to preserve and enhance workers' skills. Workers on Kurzarbeit are allowed to temporarily work in a different firm, to undergo training, and they are supported by the public employment service if they wish to change jobs.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website and publication. Show less

The OECD annual report on jobs and employment in OECD countries reviews recent trends, policy developments, and prospects. The 2021 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 145.163] focusses on the labour market implications of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 crisis. Country notes are available for Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In some countries, employers used job retention programmes to cut hours while allowing workers to keep their pay and jobs; there, it is likely that the full impact of the pandemic is yet to be felt. In others, there have been unprecedented increases in unemployment, but many workers will return to their jobs (or to new ones) as economies re-open and activity picks up.

Australia successfully ran a job retention scheme that helped support a large number of jobs during the COVID-19 crisis. By April/May 2020, 30.5 per cent of workers were employed on the scheme. Given the improvement of the health and economic situation, the scheme has now ended. Australia increased funding over four years to provide extra support to individuals affected by the crisis. In addition, it offered funding to enhance digital services for jobseekers to compensate for reduced in-person service. Additional training programmes were offered, training was moved online and training places were expanded to ensure individuals could continue to improve their skills in order to be ready for their next job.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website and publication. Show less

Young people have been hard hit by the wide reaching labour market and social impacts of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID 19 crisis. Youth unemployment has increased considerably; education and work based learning have been heavily disrupted; and many young people are suffering from financial insecurity, housing instability and mental distress. OECD governments have responded to this situation by taking comprehensive policy measures for young people, ranging from labour market and income support measures, to housing responses and mental health support. This policy brief provides an overview of the measures that countries have put in place to avoid a long-lasting negative impact on the employment prospects and aspirations of young people.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Skills are the key to shaping a better future and central to the capacity of countries and people to thrive in an increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world. Megatrends such as globalisation, technological advances and demographic change are reshaping work and society, generating a growing demand for higher levels and new sets of skills. OECD Skills Strategy projects provide a strategic and comprehensive approach to assess countries' skills challenges and opportunities and help them build more effective skills systems. The OECD works collaboratively with countries to develop policy responses that are tailored to each country's specific skills needs. The foundation of this approach is the OECD Skills Strategy Framework, which allows for an exploration of what countries can do better to: (1) develop relevant skills over the life course; (2) use skills effectively in work and in society; and (3) strengthen the governance of the skills system.

This report identifies opportunities and makes recommendations to strengthen the skills of youth, foster greater participation in adult learning, use people's skills more effectively to raise productivity, and strengthen the governance of the skills system in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website. Show less

The OECD Career Readiness project makes use of quantitative evidence to investigate how teenage career-related activities and attitudes are associated with better adult employment outcomes. Review of multiple national longitudinal datasets confirms 11 indicators of better outcomes linked to the ways in which teenagers explore, experience and think about their potential futures in work while in secondary education. This Policy Brief summarises findings from three OECD working papers. It describes the project methodology and results.

Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

This publication provides data on the structure, finances and performance of education systems in the 35 OECD countries and a number of partner countries. Including more than 100 charts and tables, and links to more information on OECD's educational database, the publication presents key information on the output of educational institutions; the impact of learning across countries; access, participation and progression in education; the financial resources invested in education; and teachers, the learning environment and the organisation of schools. The 2021 edition includes a focus on equity, investigating how progress through education and the associated learning and labour market outcomes are impacted by dimensions such as gender, socio-economic status, country of birth and regional location. A specific chapter is dedicated to Target 4.5 of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 on equity in education, providing an assessment of where OECD and partner countries stand in providing equal access to quality education at all levels. Two new indicators on the mechanisms and formulas used to allocate public funding to schools and on teacher attrition rate complement this year's edition.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website. Show less

The OECD annual report on jobs and employment in OECD countries reviews recent trends, policy developments, and prospects. The 2021 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 145.163] focusses on the labour market implications of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 crisis. Country notes are available for Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In some countries, employers used job retention programmes to cut hours while allowing workers to keep their pay and jobs; there, it is likely that the full impact of the pandemic is yet to be felt. In others, there have been unprecedented increases in unemployment, but many workers will return to their jobs (or to new ones) as economies re-open and activity picks up.

At the onset of the pandemic, unemployment among 15 to 24-year-olds in Spain surged, by over 10 percentage points in just four months to reach 42 per cent. This is more than three times the increase observed for those aged 25 and over. This strong increase in youth unemployment has been driven by new entrants who, in the context of limited hiring, have not been able to get their first job. In May 2021, the youth unemployment rate stood at 36.9 per cent. The peak take-up of job retention schemes (JRS) in Spain was in line with the OECD average at around 20 per cent of pre-pandemic employment, but lower than in other countries with a tradition of these schemes, such as Germany, France and Italy.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website and publication. Show less