This paper explores how technology affects labor market outcomes in Asia through the creation of new types of work. It investigates how workers’ characteristics can influence one’s chances of accessing emerging occupations—defined as occupation groups with new job titles. Comparisons of successive lists of the National Classification of Occupations in India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and … Continue reading
Evidence of cross-country qualification mismatch demonstrates that overqualification is even more pervasive in developing Asia than in advanced economies such as the US and other members of the OECD. However, the prevalence of over qualification relative to job requirements masks heterogeneities in skills, jobs, and labor market institutions. Nevertheless we find no evidence to support … Continue reading
Muljoko, a 27-year-old cleaner who works in one of Jakarta’s gleaming office towers, has all the trappings of a newly minted member of the middle class. He owns a motorcycle, slings a Sony smartphone and has a futuristic-looking phone-watch strapped to his wrist that he uses to text friends during working hours. He is infinitely … Continue reading
The incidence of poverty in the Asian region is quite high despite the spectacular growth performance of the PRC, India and other economies in the region. According to the 2013 World Development Indicators, 12.5% of the population in East Asia and 31% of the population in South Asia are below the $1.25/day poverty line used … Continue reading
Fast growing East Asian economies have rapidly increased the numbers of students attending university in recent years. Now the pool of unemployed graduates is rising to worrying levels in the region generally – and even in some high-growth economies. Of particular concern is whether high graduate unemployment is a temporary blip or reflects a chronic … Continue reading
Ford Motor Co. (F) plans to add 11,000 jobs in the U.S. and Asia in 2014, with more than half of those hires coming in the latter region where the company is scheduled to open two factories. Ford plans to hire about 6,000 people in Asia, most of them as hourly employees, according to a … Continue reading
One reason why the region continues to experience significant levels of poverty and rising inequality is that economic growth is not generating sufficient decent and productive employment. This is due to the nature of growth and the pattern of structural change in many countries in which workers move from agriculture into low-productivity services Continue reading
Over the last two decades, growth in most Asian economies has translated into significant reductions in poverty; nevertheless, Asia is still home to the largest number of the world’s poor Continue reading
European Union (EU) Ambassador Guy Ledoux said there are two million jobs available for migrants, including overseas Filino workers (OFW), amid record-high unemployment and fragile economies in Europe Continue reading
Despite low unemployment and solid hiring across many sectors, the job market in Asia is gradually becoming less welcoming for Westerners. Even before the global financial crisis, newcomers to Asia could not expect to walk into a job in the region unless they had particularly sought-after skills. About 60 percent of job specs processed by … Continue reading
More than 200,000 new manufacturing jobs could be created in the next decade as mid-sized manufacturing businesses end the process of outsourcing to Asia according to new research from the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce and supported by Lloyds Banking Group. The ‘Making at home, owning abroad’ study found that … Continue reading
The Asian Development Bank is urging the Philippines and other countries in Asia to address the widening inequality between rich and poor, in terms of income and access to education, health and other services. The ADB noted that despite the rapid growth in the economies of some of these Asian countries, the gap between rich … Continue reading
Shenzhen has raised its monthly minimum wage levels by RMB100 to RMB1,600 from March 1, 2013, while its hourly minimum wages have been adjusted from RMB13.3 to RMB14.5. This news comes after Guangdong Province recently announced wage hikes of nearly 20 percent that would have seen Guangzhou overtake Shenzhen as the city with the highest monthly minimum … Continue reading
The face of new Californians – once predominantly Latino – is increasingly Asian American, census data show. A seismic shift in immigration has occurred in California over the last decade, with Asia replacing Latin America as the primary source of the state’s immigrants. “This is a pretty astounding change over a short period of time,” … Continue reading