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Data and anecdotal evidence suggest that Japan is suffering from labor shortages, which are large in an international perspective, have a negative impact on potential growth, and reduce the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal stimulus. This paper focuses on policy options to ease Japan's labor shortages. In particular, we focus on possible measures to increase reliance on foreign labor. Other policy recommendations to deal with shortages include policies aimed at increasing female labor participation, encouraging wage growth, increasing investment, as well as training and other active labor market policies.

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Amidst slowing economic growth, global labour markets have shown resilience in 2023. Global unemployment has dropped to the lowest level since the outbreak of the [COVID-19] pandemic and labour force participation has recovered in most regions. Despite these positive headline indicators, fragility has emerged in working conditions, and a cost-of-living crisis has arisen from fast-rising energy and food prices. Employment growth in 2024 is projected to falter even though global unemployment will remain broadly unchanged. Major decent work deficits, which to a large degree predate the pandemic, are set to persist under these conditions - especially gender participation gaps, working poverty, and informality.

This [report] provides a comprehensive assessment of labour imbalances that arose with the recovery from the pandemic and exist alongside persistent decent work deficits. It analyses global patterns, regional differences, and outcomes across groups of workers. The report also offers labour market projections for 2024 and 2025. Finally, it presents trends in labour force participation, hours worked and employment growth and analyses their contributions to labour market imbalances.

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There is a global demand for health professionals. In developing countries, the health workforce is ageing rapidly. In Australia, 42 per cent of surgeons were aged over 55, and the average age of nurses was 50. Health workforce migration is seen as an answer to short-term domestic labour shortages. In Australia, migrant health workers are often recruited to work in rural, regional and remote areas. Developed countries are looking at specific migration categories that are designed to attract and retain skilled workers. Changes in the rules for international students are also being examined as a way of alleviating the shortages. Australia, like other developed countries, will face increased competition in attracting and retaining skilled health migrants. Show less

In the wake of a [COVID-19] pandemic and deep recession, this third Faces of Unemployment report examines the profile of people affected by unemployment - those relying on the $45 a day JobSeeker Payment and even lower Youth Allowance. It looks behind the headline unemployment statistics to reveal that long-term unemployment - as measured by reliance on unemployment payments for over 12 months - is now entrenched at an economically and socially harmful level. It examines trends in entry-level jobs and 'mismatch' in the labour market, showing that it's no easy matter for people who are unemployed to secure paid work despite growth in job vacancies. We also look at the assistance provided to people by jobactive employment services and what should be done to improve the employment prospects of people unemployed long-term.

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This bulletin is the fourth annual report by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) examining skills and occupational trends in Ireland. The bulletin outlines key labour market trends in order to assist policy formulation in the areas of employment, education and training, and immigration. It also aims to provide information relating to developments in the Irish labour market for students, career guidance advisors, and other interested parties. The statistical analysis covers the period 2002-2007, which is the most recent detailed quantitative occupational information available. For each occupation covered in the bulletin, key statistics relating to the supply and demand of skills are examined, including its employment profile and recent employment trends. The bulletin has two main purposes; to provide a statistical record of the employment data for all main occupations in the economy and to draw on this data, and other qualitative information, to identify any shortages.

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The purpose of the inquiry is to investigate and report on workforce challenges in the Australian transport sector, with particular reference to the following issues: current and future employment trends within the industry; industry needs and the skills profile of the current workforce; current and future skill and labour supply issues; strategies for enhancing recruitment, training and retention rates in the sector; and strategies to meet the demands of employers in regional and remote areas. Show less

This publication gathers the papers presented at the 'OECD-EU dialogue on mobility and international migration: matching economic migration with labour market needs' (Brussels, 24-25 February 2014), a conference jointly organised by the European Commission [EU] and the OECD. It provides new evidence on the role that international migration has played in Europe and in selected other OECD countries over the past decade in terms of labour force, educational attainment, and occupational changes. It analyses the availability and use of migrants' skills based on an in-depth literature review as well as new data analyses for Europe and the United States, Canada and the OECD as a whole, taking advantage of the International Survey of Adult Skills or [Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies] PIAAC. Finally, several chapters discuss the potential role of international migration in meeting current and future labour market needs in Europe, in the United States and in the European Union. This work shows that although migration can make an important contribution to labour force growth, its role in counterbalancing the effects of population ageing will depend on the capacity of countries to match labour needs to migrants' characteristics.

Abstract from publisher's website.

Part one, 'Demographic context', contains the following chapters: Demographic trends, labour market needs and migration / Francois Heran (pages 23-35); Demographic change and the future of the labour force in the EU27, other OECD countries and selected large emerging economies / Jason Gagnon (pages 37-65); Current and future skills of the workforce: the demography of educational attainment and the role of migration / Josep Mestres (pages 67-110); The demography of occupational change and skill use among immigrants and the native-born / Georges Lemaitre (pages 111-149). Part two, 'Migrant skills', contains: Immigrant skills, their measurement, use and return: a literature review / Ana Damas de Matos (pages 153-186); The qualifications of immigrants and their value in the labour market: a comparison of Europe and the United States / Ana Damas de Matos, Thomas Liebig (pages 187-228); The international portability of migrant human capital: Canadian experiences / Arthur Sweetman (pages 229-248); Migrants' skills: use, mismatch and labour market outcomes - a first exploration of the International Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) / Sara Bonfanti, Theodora Xenogiani (pages 249-312). Part three, 'Labour shortages and migration', contains: Projected labour market imbalances in Europe: policy challenges in meeting the Europe 2020 employment targets / Pascaline Descy (pages 315-333); Occupational labour shortages: underlying concepts and their role in US migration policy / Burt S. Barnow (pages 335-348); Migration in Europe: an overview of results from the 2008 immigrant module with implications for labour migration / Georges Lemaitre (pages 349-379). Show less

The recent and currently fragile economic recovery has not yet been able to create new jobs and the social situation in the [European Union] EU shows little signs of improvement so far. The improved outcomes in the EU labour markets are still at best modest. Employment showed the first signs of stabilising in 2013, with a 0.1 per cent growth in the second half of the year. This analysis also points to an expected increase in poverty levels and a slight improvement in the impact of social protection expenditure in 2013, even if its support effect remains very weak. The situation for households remains serious. The income that households have at their disposal is lagging behind the growth of gross domestic product. It provides also empirical evidence that the crisis at its height had the strongest adverse impact on labour market transitions of men and young people.

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While unemployment is still a huge challenge in Europe, some countries, sectors and occupations are experiencing labour shortages. This report explores various approaches to identifying labour shortages and maps national policy debates around the issue. It documents public and social partner interventions to tackle labour shortages, such as measures fostering geographical or occupational mobility, addressing skills shortages and underinvestment in skills, improving working and employment conditions, and providing better matching procedures.

Key findings are as follows: (1) between 2013 and 2019, labour shortages increased in the EU; while the unmet demand for labour - measured in terms of vacancy rates - dipped from 2.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2019 to 1.7 per cent in the same quarter of 2020, the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic accentuated long-standing shortages in sectors such as healthcare and ICT; (2) labour shortages vary across country groups; the largest shortages are reported in the manufacturing and construction and services sectors in eastern Europe, where in 2019, 39 per cent of companies in manufacturing and 42 per cent of companies in construction point to labour shortages as a factor limiting production; (3) in the context of the post-COVID-19 recovery, the construction, energy, manufacturing and transport sectors are likely to be impacted by the transition to a climate-neutral economy, requiring additional labour and new skills; (4) three main types of measures can be used to address labour shortages: (a) measures to enhance the attractiveness of specific regions, sectors or occupations; (b) measures to overcome labour market barriers faced by groups such as persons with disabilities, women, migrants or ethnic minorities; and (c) measures to enhance the use of existing labour by improving job matching services, addressing skills mismatches and preventing exit from the labour market; in designing policies to address labour shortages, a clear assessment of the main drivers of shortage at national, regional and sectoral level is critical, while in order to achieve sustainable outcomes, policy measures should tackle the underlying causes of shortages; and (5) social partners have a key role to play in the design and implementation of measures to tackle labour shortages, as they are at the heart of emerging trends and labour demands; and individual employers can play a critical role, not least because their influence on the creation of profiles of the workforce and skills required, the working conditions and levels of pay offered can have a direct bearing on the extent to which recruitment difficulties emerge.

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In 2020, StudyPerth commissioned ACIL Allen to quantify the economic importance of international education to the [Western Australian] WA economy [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 147.715]. It was estimated that in 2019, the 53,404 international student enrolments in Western Australia boosted the State's Gross State Product by $2.1 billion and supported almost 12,000 direct and indirect [full time equivalent] FTE jobs across Western Australia. Since the completion of this study in April 2020, the international education sector has been hit hard by the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, as governments around the world closed their borders to protect the health and wellbeing of their citizens. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated travel restrictions has continued into 2021, with a timeline for the return of international students to Western Australia remaining unclear.

In light of the significant impact that the COVID-19 pandemic and associated travel restrictions has had on the international education sector since early 2020, StudyPerth engaged ACIL Allen to estimate the economic contribution of the international education sector in 2020, and compare this with the 2019 results. In addition, StudyPerth has sought to understand the economic outlook for the international education sector based on an assumed path back to pre-COVID-19 student numbers in Western Australia. As a result, in this study ACIL Allen has completed an additional two modelling tasks. First, ACIL Allen has run an additional four simulations of its [input-output] I-O model on the projected economic impacts of the international students in WA based on the forecast international student numbers in 2021 and 2022. Second, in order to determine the economy-wide implications of labour shortages arising from a reduction in international student numbers, ACIL Allen applied its Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, Tasman Global, to dynamically pick up the impacts of labour market constraints on sectors of the economy that typically source international students for part-time work.

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