Who are the low paid?

Seamus McGuinness and John Freebairn

Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), 2007, vol. 10, issue 1, 17-37

Abstract: This paper provides pictures of low pay adult employees in Australia in 2004 drawing on data from the HILDA survey. The low paid are disaggregated into full-time and part-time employees. Estimates from multivariate probit models reveal that low wage employees are more likely to have casual status, single marital status, a low educational attainment, aged 21 to 30 or 60 plus, be employed in small firms, non-unionised, and have a lower occupational tenure. The magnitude of effect of these distinguishing characteristics is much larger for part-time versus full-time employees. Low paid employees, and more so in the case of full-time employees, are spread fairly evenly across households with different incomes. For about a half of low paid employees, a low paid job, especially if it is full-time, is a stepping stone to a higher paying job in the future.

Keywords: Labor Economics Policies; Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials; Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs; Public Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J08 J31 J38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ozl:journl:v:10:y:2007:i:1:p:17-37

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