From 2006 to 2009, Federal minimum wages in Australia were set by the Australian Fair Pay Commission. This paper uses data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia panel survey to investigate the circumstances of persons who are paid at or near the minimum wage, and thus...

Over the last two decades there has been a substantial increase in the proportion of lone mothers employed part-time, while the proportion employed full-time was much the same in 2005 as it was in the early 1980s. The experience of couple mothers is quite different, with both full-time and...

Increased rates of employment amongst mothers with young children over recent years has stimulated debate about how governments and employers can support mothers to effectively combine paid work with caring for young children. This paper examines mothers’ perceived usefulness of a range of...

It is commonplace in Australian policy debate for groups presumed to be adversely affected by proposed policies to provide estimates of the undesirable consequences of change. A highly public example of the above is the claim by the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), based on work done in 2009...

Statutory minimum wages increased substantially in New Zealand between 2000 and 2008. Where less than three per cent of workers were being paid the minimum wage in the late 1990s, this figure increased to more than ten per cent of workers by 2008. However, it is not obvious how this rise in the...

While more mothers have been participating in the paid workforce over recent years, the employment rate of lone mothers remains lower than that of couple mothers. This paper provides new insights into these different rates of employment, by examining whether the lower employment rate of lone...

With governments worldwide attempting to increase the labour force participation of older workers in the context of ageing populations, both older workers marginally attached to the labour force (discouraged workers), and those whose labour force participation is affected by cyclical...

Supporting those mature-age workers who wish to continue working is a key policy challenge arising from the Intergenerational Report 2010. As previous research indicates, there are many factors that influence labour market engagement of those approaching retirement. This paper examines those...

The collection of the National Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) in 2002 provides a valuable new source of data on Indigenous labour force status. Apart from the 1994 NATSIS until now the only useful data available to assess the labour market circumstances of Indigenous...

It is well accepted that a highly educated and well trained labour force is a precondition for sustained economic growth and development, and that the labour market outcomes for individuals are enhanced with higher levels of education and training. Recognition of these facts has influenced the...