Labour market

Abstract

This chapter deals with wage dispersion, polarization, and job structures. It looks first how the structure of jobs and the wages they receive has changed across the OECD over recent decades, and shows the extent of variation across the OECD countries in that regard. It then considers the relationship between the shifts in the occupational structure this reveals and patterns of wage inequality. The UK, a prime example of a country with a significant loss of ‘middle’ jobs, is then studied in more detail, to tease out in particular the changing relationship between occupations and levels of pay. The relationship between occupational structures and wage mobility or progression over time for individuals is also explored.