TRENDS AND CHALLENGES IN THE OCCUPATIONAL COMPOSITION OF EMPLOYMENT IN THE EU15 AND IN TURKEY

Year 2010, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 651 - 670, 01.05.2010

Beyza Sümer

Abstract

Any fundamental change in a society has a deep effect on the structure and composition of employment. In the era of knowledge society, this structural transformation brings about the creation of new jobs and the extinction of certain traditional jobs. An analysis of employment by occupations may show the new jobs created by new technologies and industries, and also may reveal labour market risks related with non-decent jobs In this paper an analysis of occupational composition of employment in the
EU15 and Turkey has been made for the purpose of highlighting the dual
increase in both skilled and non-skilled jobs created by the ongoing structural
changes; and labour market risks related with low-skilled occupations. The
study is supported with empirical data, and it concludes that people having nondecent
jobs in services and elementary jobs are in need of social protection; and
that new jobs can be generated in certain subgroups.

Keywords

Occupations, Employment, EU, Turkey

References

• BOSCH, G., RUBERY, J., and LEHNDORFF, S. (2007): “European employment models under pressure to change”, International Labour Review, (3-4): 253-255.
• CASEY, C. and ALACH, P. (2004): “Just a Temp?‟: Women, Temporary Employment and Lifestyle”, Work Employment and Society, 18: 459-464.
• CASTELLS, M. (1996): The information age: Economy, society and culture. The rise of the net-work society,Vol. 1. Malden, MA, Blackwell.
• CORLEY, M., PERARDEL, Y., and POPOVA, K. (2005): “Wage inequality by gender and occupation: A cross-country analysis”, ILO Employment Strategy Papers, 20: 1-26.
• ELİAS, P. and PURCELL, K. (2006): “ Achieving Equality in the Knowledge Economy”, GeNet Working Paper, 15: 2-3. ELİAS, P. (1997): “Occupational Classification: Concepts, Methods, Reliability, Validity and Cross-National Comparability”, OECD Labour Market and Social Policy Occasional Papers, 20.
• GALLİE, D. (1996): “New Technology and the Class Structure: The Blue Collar/White-Collar Divide Revisited”, The British Journal of Sociology, 47(3): 454.
• GREEN, A. E. and OWEN, D. (2006): TheGeography of Poor Skills and Access to Work, York: York Publishing Services Ltd., 2-3.
• HECKER, D. E. (2005): “High Technology Employment: A NAICS-based Update”, Monthly Labor Review, 128 (7): 57.
• ILG, R. E. (2006): “Change in Employment by Occupation, Industry, and Earnings”, Monthly Labour Review, 129 (12): 21 .
• ILO (1999): Decent Work. Report of the Director-General of the ILO to the 87th Session of the International Labour Conference, Geneva.
• INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION, Statistics Database, http://laborsta.ilo.org
• INTERNATIONAL STANDARD CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS, Retrieved December 2007 from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/isco/isco88/major.htm
• LINDSAY, C. and MCQUAID, R.W. (2004): “Avoiding the „McJobs‟: Unemployed Job Seekers and Attitudes to Service Work”, Work Employment Society, 18: 313.
• MCGOVERN, P., SMEATON, D., and HILL, S. (2004): “Bad Jobs in Britain: Nonstandard Employment and Job Quality”, Work and Occupations, 31: 243.
• MEİSENHEİMER, J. R. (1998): “The Services Industry in the „Good‟ versus „Bad‟ Jobs”, Monthly Labor Review, 121 (2): 22-36.
• NTERMANAKİS, N. E. (2000): Report on Trends of Female Employment in Technical Occupations in Germany, Greece, Finland, France and United Kingdom. Research Centre For Gender Equality. Research Center for Gender Equality, 2-10. Retrieved September, 2007 from http://www.kethi.gr/english/meletes/MEleti_Leonardo/Leonardo.pdf.
• OESCH, D. (2006): “Coming to Grisps with a Changing Class Structure: An Analysis of Employment Stratification in Britian, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland”, International Sociology, 21: 264.
• SEGAL, L.M. and SULLİVAN, D.G. (1995): “The Temporary Labor Force”, Economic Perspectives, 19(2): 2-10.
• VOS, KEES J. (2005): “Americanisation of the EU Social Policy?”, The International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations, 21(3): 361.
• ZEYTİNOGLU, I. and COOKE, G. B.(2008): “Non-standard Employment and Promotions: a Within Genders Analysis”, Journal of Industrial Relations, 50:333.