The labour market integration of immigrants in Australia is shaped by the country’s long tradition as an immigration country and its selection policy. Over the post-war period, the main origin countries of immigration to Australia have shifted from English-speaking countries to other OECD countries, and, since the mid-1970s, to non-OECD countries. Parallel to this shift...

The most effective way to reduce poverty and marginalisation in society is through education, which results in high employment, greater expendable income capable of supporting a welfare system and increased personal leisure time; this leads to social stability and optimal conditions for good population health.

This paper examines Australia's future productivity growth prospects and, specifically, whether it is feasible for Australia to match the performance benchmarks set by other countries now and in the foreseeable future. Key points • International comparisons of productivity at a national level are useful, but should be treated with care. Comparisons of productivity performance are...

This paper highlights the trends in youth labour market performance over the past decade using a wide range of indicators. It also presents new evidence on the length of transitions from school to work; the wages, working conditions and stability of jobs performed by youth; and the degree of 'over-education' - the gap between the...

This staff working paper is part of a stream of Productivity Commission research focused on labour participation issues, which commenced with the Commission's study for CoAG on the Economic Implications of an Ageing Australia (8408).