HOW GOOD OR BAD ARE TODAY S JOBS? SOME RESEARCH HEADLINES

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1 HOW GOOD OR BAD ARE TODAY S JOBS? SOME RESEARCH HEADLINES ALAN FELSTEAD Cardiff School of Social Sciences Cardiff University alanfelstead@cf.ac.uk

2 Pay Regularly Reported Using Official Data

3 Relatively Low Pay a Feature of the Welsh Economy 24% of workers in Wales are paid less than the Living Wage This compares to 22% in UK as a whole

4 and Real Average Pay Has Fallen Since 2008

5 Unemployment Also Regularly Tracked & Reported Again Using Official Data Before the recession unemployment rates in Wales were similar, if not better, to those in the UK as a whole However, in the recession unemployment grew faster in Wales than in Britain This gap remains latest figures give an unemployment rate in Wales of 5.9% compared to 5.6% in Britain (June 2015)

6 Less Frequent Surveys on Job Quality Date Survey Sample Size 1986 Social Change & Economic Life Initiative 1992 Employment in Britain Survey Skills Survey Skills Survey Skills Survey Skills and Employment Survey 3200

7 Skills and Employment Survey 2012 Interviews with workers adults aged 20 to 65 in Britain 3,200 interviewed in 2012, of which 587 were in Wales (407 in 2006) Sampling procedure: national random probability samples, with interviews at home, lasting one hour Data taken from responses given to over 360 questions on skills and the quality of work beyond pay

8 Two Short Welsh Reports (longer report also available)

9 but pay is just part of the story! What about the non-pay quality of work? 1. Trends in Training

10 Fears of Training Cutbacks In an economic downturn, there is always a temptation to cut spending on staff training Calls for Restraint But it s a false economy We must not pay the price of failing to invest in the talent on which our future will be built

11 No Evidence of a Recession Effect on Incidence of Training Source: own calculations from LFS

12 But Training Episodes Less Than One Week Rising 55 Percentage of Training Episodes < One Week

13 But the Quality of Training Has Not Suffered % of jobs Certified Skills Way of working Enjoyment Satisfied

14 2. Trends in Skills Under-utilisation

15 Over-qualification Rates % of Jobs Held by Workers/Graduates Overqualified: all workers Overqualified: graduates

16 How Does the UK Compare? Not Very Well! Over-qualified for the job (%) Overqualification above average in UK

17 How Does Wales Compare? Not Very Well Degree Mismatch, % of graduates in workforce minus % of graduate jobs London & South East Rest of Britain Wales

18 But Focusing on Supply is Not Enough % of establishments Skills shortage vacancies Skills gaps Source: UKCES Employer Skills Survey 2013 Under-use of skills

19 3. Trends in Work Intensification

20 70 Work Intensification, % of jobs High pressure Hard work High speed

21 Percentage of Hard Working Jobs, Men Women full-time - part-time Public Private

22 How Does Britain Compare on Work Intensity? Ukraine Britain Ireland Slovakia Spain Hungary Bulgaria Lithuania Greece Poland Germany Finland Cyprus Netherlands Belgium Slovenia Italy Czech Republic Russia Switzerland France Estonia Croatia Norway Portugal Sweden Denmark Work intensity relatively high in Britain Percentage strongly agreeing that job requires working very hard [meaning long hours or intensity]

23 4. Fear at Work

24 50 Workers Fear More than Job Loss, Especially in the Public Sector % very or fairly anxious % Less say in job Less skill Less pay Less interesting work All Employees Private Sector Public Sector

25 Five-point Summary 1. Growing wage inequality and real wage stagnation 2. Long-term decline in training incidence and intensity 3. Over-qualification still high but has improved 4. Work has become more intense 5. Job insecurity high, especially in the public sector

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27 References Felstead, A, Davies, R, Jones, S (2013) Job Skills, Qualification Use and Training in Wales: Results from the Skills and Employment Survey 2012, Cardiff: Wales Institute for Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods. Felstead, A, Gallie, D, Green, F and Inanc, H (2013) Skills at Work in Britain: First Findings from the Skills and Employment Survey 2012, London: Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies, Institute of Education. Felstead, A, Gallie, D, Green, F and Inanc, H (2013) Work Intensification in Britain: First Findings from the Skills and Employment Survey 2012, London: Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies, Institute of Education. Felstead, A and Green, F (2013) Underutilization, overqualification and skills mismatch: patterns and trends, Skills in Focus, June, Glasgow: Skills Development Scotland, overqualification_and_ skills_mismatch_patterns_and_trends.pdf Felstead, A, Green, F and Jewson, N (2012) An analysis of the impact of the recession on the provision of training in the UK, Work, Employment and Society, 26(6): Felstead, A, Green, F and Jewson, N (2013) Training in recession: the impact of the recession on training at work, UKCES Evidence Report No 72, September, Wath-upon-Dearne: UK Commission for Employment and Skills, Green, F, Felstead, A, Gallie, D and Inanc, H (2013) Training in Britain: First Findings from the Skills and Employment Survey 2012, London: Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies, Institute of Education. Green, F, Felstead, A, Gallie, D, Inanc, H and Jewson, N (2013) What has been happening to the training of workers in Britain?, LLAKES Research Paper 43, London: ESRC Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies, Institute of Education, University of London.