How good is your job? Measuring and assessing job quality

This chapter provides a broad picture of job quality across OECD countries and socio-economic groups, along three broad dimensions that are essential for worker well-being: earnings quality, labour market security, and quality of the work environment. The chapter argues that labour market performance should be assessed in terms of the increase in both the number and the quality of job opportunities. It suggests that such an approach would indeed make a difference. While a number of countries display equally good (or bad) performance in both aspects, the picture is more mixed in some other countries, where a high (low) quantity of jobs is not necessarily accompanied by high (low) quality. In addition, the chapter provides new insights on labour market inequalities, by shedding further light on the nature and depth of the disadvantages faced by some population groups. In particular, youth, low skilled workers and those with temporary jobs appear to cumulate many disadvantages, while high skilled workers not only have access to more jobs, but also to the best quality jobs.