Among the collateral damage of an early election – especially a double dissolution election – is the work of parliamentary committees. At 9am on 9 May, each and every committee of the forty-fourth parliament ceased to exist and many inquiries lapsed, their investigations unfinished. Having had fair warning of Turnbull’s intentions, other committees rushed out...

In advanced and emerging economies alike, individuals are struggling to find work and build careers that make use of their skills and capabilities. The strains in global labor markets have been worsening for decades, and the challenges have been magnified in the aftermath of the global recession. In many countries, concerns about employment have been...

Views on what is happening to labor demand in the middle of the U.S. labor market are strongly divergent. Many economists argue that the middle is “hollowing out” as a result of digital technologies and globalization that make it easy for employers to replace workers doing routine tasks. But many employers argue they can’t fill...

Australia’s Seasonal Worker Program (SWP) permits workers from eight Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste to work in Australia for a period of fourteen weeks to six months. The program centers on the horticulture sector, but is currently being trialed in four other sectors that were also perceived as suffering from labor shortages: accommodation, aquaculture, cotton...

The Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) policy allows the horticulture and viticulture industries to recruit workers from overseas - mostly from the Pacific Islands - for seasonal work when there are not enough New Zealand workers. Under the scheme employers can bring in up to 9,000 workers a year.