Employment Outcomes for Men and Women Following an Economic Downturn: Labour Underutilisation in Australia

In Australia, as elsewhere, there has been continuing interest in understanding questions regarding unequal employment opportunities. While aggregate patterns provide a useful overview, it is insightful to consider employment outcomes across segmented markets. One such segmented market is between men and women, where it is widely understood that labour market engagement opportunities will differ. This paper provides an investigation of these uneven labour market outcomes. It presents an analysis of labour underutilisation for men and women using panel data, taking account of both individual-level supply-side factors together with the strength of the local labour market (demand side) and the performance of the broader macroeconomic environment. The result is an analysis that accounts for the impact of changing macroeconomy, local labour market conditions and men and women's employability assets.