Changing Skill Intensity in Australian Industry

This article examines changes in industry skill scores for Australia for the period 1991 to 2001 using indices of cognitive skill for industry based on Census employment data. Changes in mean industry cognitive skill levels are analysed, as are the relative contributions of changes to the occupational structure within industry and changes to the industry structure of employment. The main findings are that the drivers of skill change differed substantially between the two Census periods. Prior to 1996 the majority of the change was due to shifts towards industries with a more highly skilled workforce. After 1996 changes in the economywide skill level were dominated by withinindustry changes in occupational composition. This coincided with a sharp pickup in the rate of capital expenditure on information and communication technologies. The increasing use of part-time employment overall had a deskilling effect.