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The Dynamics of Low Pay Employment in Australia

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  • Cai, Lixin

Abstract

Using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, this study shows that the largest proportion of low pay spells originated from higher pay; only a small proportion were from non-employment or recent graduates. While the majority of low pay spells transitioned to higher pay, a significant proportion ended up with non-employment. The multivariate analysis shows that workers who entered low pay from higher pay also have a higher hazard rate of transitioning to higher pay; and those who entered low pay from non-employment are more likely to return to non-employment. Union members, public sector jobs and working in medium to large size firms increase the hazard rate of transitioning to higher pay, while immigrants from non-English speaking countries and workers with health problems have a lower hazard rate of moving into higher pay. There is some evidence that the longer a worker is in low paid employment, the less likely they are to transition to higher pay.

Suggested Citation

  • Cai, Lixin, 2013. "The Dynamics of Low Pay Employment in Australia," MPRA Paper 50521, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:50521
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Shah, Dhara & Meiklejohn, Ainslie & Spencer, Nancy & Lawrence, Sandra, 2024. "Precariat women’s experiences to undertake an entrepreneurial training program," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    3. Alvaro von Borries & Markus Grillitsch & Karl-Johan Lundquist, 2024. "Structural transformation, the knowledge economy, and the geography of low-income work," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 24(2), pages 285-308.
    4. von Borries, Alvaro & Grillitsch, Markus & Lundquist, Karl-Johan, 2022. "Geographies of Low-Income Jobs: The concentration of low-income jobs, the knowledge economy and labor market polarization in Sweden, 1990-2018," Papers in Innovation Studies 2022/4, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Low pay; competing risk; Australia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods

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