How to measure quality in labour market transitions? Methodological proposals Audrey Levêque, Jean-François Orianne & François Pichault (University of Liège)

INTRODUCTION

Scope of the presentation Synthesis of proposals issued from an exploratory study launched by the Belgian Federal Public Service Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue Proposals validated by a steering committee composed of social partners and experts of the labour market

General objective Designing indicators likely to improve and/or supplement existing flexicurity indicators by focusing on four main themes: De-segmentation of the labour market job quality transition quality life-long learning

Specific objectives Designing indicators via an inductive and participatory process Taking into consideration institutional contexts Strengthening the longitudinal perspective Integrating subjective and deliberative aspects

Defining flexicurity The concept of flexicurity often remains developed at a theoretical and “macro” level (labour market): “A policy strategy that attempts, synchronically and in a deliberate way, to enhance the flexibility of labour markets, work organisation and labour relations on the one hand, and to enhance security – employment security and social security – notably for weaker groups in and outside of the labour market, on the other hand” (Wilthagen & Rogowski, 2002) The challenge: to assess the quality of individual transitions on the labour market Flexicurity= a policy strategy that encourages positive and qualitative transitions in a given institutional context

The key concepts of flexicurity OUTPUT (job quality) INPUT (no job/existing job)

The key concepts of flexicurity Quality of transitions OUTPUT (job quality) INPUT (no job/existing job)

The key concepts of flexicurity De-segmentation Quality of transitions OUTPUT (job quality) INPUT (no job/existing job)

The key concepts of flexicurity CONTEXT (in which LLL) De-segmentation Quality of transitions OUTPUT (job quality) INPUT (no job/existing job)

FLEXICURITY INDICATORS

Labour market de-segmentation Sum of all positive transitions (towards or within employment) Data gathered at the individual level Indicators of: status access to learning income Panel survey needed

Sum of all positive transitions Employment on the primary labour market (open-ended contract, stable employment, progressive movement, training) Employment on the intermediate market Employment on the secondary labour market (fixed-term contract, unstable employment, no training, no professional progression) Unemployed workers (unoccupied job seekers) Inactive persons (neither employed nor seeking a job: young people under 14 years old, students, retired people, people staying at home, people with a disability, etc.) De-segmentation

De-segmentation indicators Source: Labour Force Survey T2 T1 Better status Equal status Lower status Access to training No access to training Better income Equal or lower income Status: Inactivity Unemployment Fixed-term contract Open-ended contract Access to training No access to training Income (gross salary and benefits)

De-segmentation Via a simple regression analysis, we can calculate the probability for any individual in a given context to know a progressive or regressive transition (from t 1 to t 2 ) Use of Labour Force Survey (LFS) with panels in all European countries

Job quality 2 main sources : Davoine, L. (2007), La qualité de l’emploi : une perspective européenne, Phd thesis, Université Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne Muñoz de Bustillo, R. et al. (dir.) (2009), Indicators of Job Quality in the European Union, European Parliament (Directorate General for Internal Policies – Policy Department A : Economic and Scientific Policy - Employment and Social Affairs)

Job quality indicators

Job quality Job quality = employment AND work Data gathered at the individual level We propose to include questions concerning work into LFS => one single source, more reliable than EWCS

Quality of transitions Attempt to characterize the process itself between t 1 and t 2, i.e. between the input and the output of the transition, whatever this transition may be Method: a working group of key experts on the labour market in charge of exploring the transversal dimensions of quality in labour market transitions Data gathered at the individual level

Five main fields of transitions

Quality of transitions: transversal dimensions Result of a personal choice If not, possibility of anticipating the transition Strong individual support, i.e. efficiency, frequency, non-discrimination, coherence, decentralisation, etc. of accompanying actions Perception of security during the transition Possibility of acquiring new skills and experience

Quality of transitions  A set of new questions to integrate into LFS, for example: ”Were you provided with a regular follow-up during the transition?” “If your professional status has changed during the reference period, did you acquire new skills during this transition (knowledge, know-how, personal skills)?”

Quality in labour market transitions Quality of transitions Job quality

Quality in labour market transitions -+ -Poor + Quality of transitions Job quality

Quality in labour market transitions -+ -PoorPainful + Quality of transitions Job quality

Quality in labour market transitions -+ -PoorPainful +Inefficient Quality of transitions Job quality

Quality in labour market transitions -+ -PoorPainful +InefficientHigh Quality of transitions Job quality

Institutional context In order to avoid meaningless international comparisons, it is important to refer indicators of de-segmentation, job and transition quality to the specific institutional context in which the data were gathered, i.e.: Lifelong learning (LLL) Labour market Social protection Social dialogue Data gathered at meso and/or macro levels

Contextual dimensions Dimensionssub-dimensionssources LLLInputEurostat ProcessLFS, CVTS OutputAES Labour marketUnemployment, employment and salary LFS, ESS, OCDE Labour costEurostat Labour market policiesLMP Social protectionSocial expenditureEurostat Social inclusion and pensionsSILC, LFS Employment protectionOCDE Balance between private life and work SILC, LFS GrowthEurostat Social dialogueILO

PROPOSED OUTPUTS

Detailed dashboards with specific indicators De-segmentation of the labour market Job quality Quality of transitions Context (including LLL)

Synthesis indicators Basic components 1. Labour market de-segmentation 2. Job quality 3. Quality of transitions Institutional context 4.Development of lifelong learning 5.Extent of social dialogue 6.Activation 7.Decommodification 8.Defamilialisation

Scoring and radars Each specific indicator is given a score in accordance with its deviation from the European average (1 – 2 – 3) The value of each synthesis indicator is the sum of the scores obtained for each specific indicator that it includes A graphic presentation of synthesis indicators (flexicurity radars) allows us to characterize the quality of labour market transitions within a given institutional context (= flexicurity policy)

Fictional example

CONCLUSION

1. Thanks to the list of specific indicators, 4 detailed dashboards enable experts to conduct in-depth analyses of flexicurity in a particular Member State in terms of job quality, de-segmentation or transition quality 2. The synthesis indicators and the calculation of the score for each of them may help policy makers to monitor their actions on the labour market A twofold analytical tool