Reports

This paper introduces the Employer Module of the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), a new OECD survey designed to measure the imbalance between the supply of and demand for the skills needed in the workplace (skill gaps), and how this relates to companies’ business strategy and hiring, training and human resource practices. The document first describes the added value of collecting such data, and the different streams of economic research it can contribute to. It then shows how the Module can complement worker-level information on skill imbalances collected in the OECD Survey of Adult Skills. Lastly, it presents the key technical features of the survey, including the questionnaire’s conceptual development, the units of observation and coverage, the mode of administration, and the requirements for data cleaning and validation.

Globalisation and rapid technological change have radically transformed labour markets, affecting the lives and prospects of billions of workers. Those in the informal economy, the vast bulk of the workforce in the Global South, have been bearing the brunt. This report is for policy makers seeking to address the factors that make those workers in informality vulnerable. It provides them with a distinctive cross-country comparison of recent informality trends, and how they were affected by the recent crises such as the COVID-19 epidemic, casting light on the impacts of sub-contracting models in global value chains, and digital labour platforms. It argues that an inclusive recovery and greater resilience to future crises necessitate that many countries renew their social contracts, to make them more inclusive of informal workers and their families.

Un nombre croissant de pays membres de l’OCDE fait face à un défi d’attractivité de leur fonction publique, et ce, alors même que la gestion des politiques publiques, de plus en plus complexe, requiert de nouvelles compétences. Ce document cherche à identifier les facteurs d’attractivité de la fonction publique dans les régions françaises et à travers les pays membres de l’Union européenne, notamment dans un contexte de grandes tendances de l’emploi public en constante évolution. Le premier chapitre vise à éclairer le diagnostic d’attractivité de la fonction publique d’État dans les territoires français, par le biais d’un focus principalement qualitatif sur quatre régions (Grand Est, Hauts-de-France, Île-de-France, Normandie) confrontées, en tout ou partie, à des difficultés pour attirer, recruter et fidéliser leurs agents publics. Le second chapitre, au-delà d’une meilleure compréhension des grandes tendances affectant l’emploi public à travers l’Union européenne et les pays membres de l’OCDE et des implications pour la fonction Ressources Humaines (RH), explore les mesures mises en œuvre par d’autres administrations des pays membres de l’OCDE ainsi que dans le secteur privé pour développer ou adapter leurs politiques de ressources humaines afin de mieux planifier les efforts d’attractivité.

National Statistical Offices face a growing policy demand for better statistics on digital platform employment and work. New statistical definitions are needed to avoid undercounting the number of people involved in these jobs. In addition, new sources of data, including non-official ones, may be needed to meet the statistical challenges of measuring digital platform employment and work. The OECD, the International Labour Organisation and the European Commission have joined forces to produce this Handbook on Measuring Digital Platform Employment and Work, which assesses measurement options and provides first recommendations on these issues. The Handbook first proposes a general definition of digital platform work and a conceptual framework that helps identify the key features of digital platform employment and work, which statisticians should bear in mind when designing their research objectives and operational protocol. The Handbook then reviews the main statistical vehicles used for measuring digital platform employment, and discusses previous statistical initiatives by National Statistical Offices through the lens of its conceptual framework.

The paper discusses the implications of recent advances in artificial intelligence for knowledge workers, focusing on possible complementarities and substitution between machine translation tools and language professionals. The emergence of machine translation tools could enhance social welfare through enhanced opportunities for inter-language communication but also create new threats because of persisting low levels of accuracy and quality in the translation output. The paper uses data on online job vacancies to map the evolution of the demand for language professionals between 2015 and 2019 in 10 countries and illustrates the set of skills that are considered important by employers seeking to hire language professionals through job vacancies posted on line.

This document serves both as a conceptual and practical guide for defining and classifying AI, in order to help stakeholders analyse and understand its impact on the workplace. It first discusses how AI can be defined and provides a selection of AI use cases to help stakeholders identify AI and distinguish it from other advanced technologies. The document then provides a framework for classifying AI according to its impact on the workplace, consisting of a set of questions intended to help stakeholders evaluate any AI application from a workplace perspective (either a priori or ex post) and to promote informed discussion so that AI is implemented in a way that empowers and complements workers and improves job quality, and that no one is left behind.

New OECD surveys of employers and workers in the manufacturing and finance sectors of seven countries shed new light on the impact that Artificial Intelligence has on the workplace —an under-researched area to date due to lack of data. The findings suggest that both workers and their employers are generally very positive about the impact of AI on performance and working conditions. However, there are also concerns, including about job loss—an issue that should be closely monitored. The surveys also indicate that, while many workers trust their employers when it comes to the implementation of AI in the workplace, more can be done to improve trust. In particular, the surveys show that both training and worker consultation are associated with better outcomes for workers.

How artificial intelligence (AI) will impact workplaces is a central question for the future of work, with potentially significant implications for jobs, productivity, and worker well-being. Yet, knowledge gaps remain in terms of how firms, workers, and worker representatives are adapting. This study addresses these gaps through a qualitative approach. It is based on nearly 100 case studies of the impacts of AI technologies on workplaces in the manufacturing and finance sectors of eight OECD countries. The study shows that, to date, job reorganisation appears more prevalent than job displacement, with automation prompting the reorientation of jobs towards tasks in which humans have a comparative advantage. Job quality improvements associated with AI – reductions in tedium, greater worker engagement, and improved physical safety – may be its strongest endorsement from a worker perspective. The study also highlights challenges – skill requirements and reports of increased work intensity – underscoring the need for policies to ensure that AI technologies benefit everyone.

As societies become increasingly digital, cyber security has become a priority for individuals, companies and nations. The number of cyber attacks is exceeding defence capabilities, and one reason for this is the lack of an adequately skilled cyber security workforce. This report analyses the demand for cyber security professionals in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States using information contained in online job postings. The analysis looks at recent trends in the demand for workers in different types of cyber security roles, the geographical distribution of cyber security job postings, and the changing skill requirements for professionals in this field. The report also looks at the supply side, zooming in on the landscape of cyber security education and training programmes in England (United Kingdom). It describes the different types of programmes provided in further and higher education, the profile of learners in these programmes and their outcomes. Finally, the report also looks at policies and initiatives adopted in England to make cyber security education and training programmes more accessible and relevant. This report is part of a larger initiative examining the evolution of policies and experiences in the cyber security profession around the world.