Research Discussion Paper – RDP 2016-06 Jobs or Hours? Cyclical Labour Market Adjustment in Australia

Contents

• Introduction
• Changes in Labour Market Adjustment over Time
• Why Has More Adjustment Occurred through Average Hours Worked?
• A Closer Look at the 2008–09 Downturn
• Conclusion
• Appendix A: Decomposing the Cyclical Adjustment of Total Hours
• Appendix B: Composition Effects
• Appendix C: Classifying Job Stayers and Movers
• Appendix D: Decomposing the Change in Average Hours Worked
• References

We would like to thank Rochelle Guttmann, David Jacobs, Christopher Kent, Marion Kohler, Gianni La Cava, John Simon, Peter Tulip and seminar participants at the Reserve Bank of Australia and the University of Melbourne for their helpful comments. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Reserve Bank of Australia. The authors are solely responsible for any errors.