Understanding the Role of Key Socio-demographic Characteristics in Labour Force and Industry Employment Outcomes

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to improve understanding of the impact of socio-demographic characteristics in labour force and industry employment outcomes in Australia. The paper presents results of multivariate econometric modelling of the relationship between an individual's socio-demographic characteristics and the probability of being in one of 19 labour market outcomes: employed in any of the 17 one-digit ANZSIC industry sectors, unemployed, or not in the labour force. Through the creation of stylised socio-demographic profiles, the model serves as a tool with which to probe the impacts across industries of changes by gender in ageing, education and age of children. The data set is based on Wave 4 of the Living in Australia: Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. Brief descriptions of the data and cross-tabulations of variables used in the model are provided in the appendix.