Labour market facts and trends

Israel entered the 2020s with a strong labour market, following more than a decade of rising employment, falling unemployment, and sustained wage gains, a resilience striking given repeated security shocks. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2023–24 war, aggregate indicators returned relatively quickly towards pre-shock paths. Yet large and persistent gaps in employment and earnings remain, particularly among Arab Israelis and Ultra-Orthodox Jews. With the Ultra-Orthodox share of the working-age population growing rapidly, the stakes of closing these gaps are rising.   

Since 1991 the Australian economy has experienced sustained growth. Aided by the commodities boom and strong public finances, the Australian economy negotiated the global financial crisis without falling into recession. However, the dislocation associated with the Covid-19 pandemic saw the economy enter recession in 2020, before sharply rebounding. Since 2022, unemployment and real weekly earnings have returned to pre-Covid-19 levels but more recently real wages have slipped due to high inflation. Further recent headwinds include a rise in long-term unemployment, deteriorating youth labour market, and a stagnant gender earnings gap.

Greece’s labour market tells a mixed story. After one of the deepest crises in Europe, unemployment has fallen and employment has recovered, yet many problems remain. Long-term unemployment is still high, real wages have not fully regained their purchasing power, and most jobs are in small firms with limited growth prospects. At the same time, major reforms changed how wages are set, reducing collective bargaining and making the minimum wage the main pay floor for many workers. This raises an important question: has the Greek labour market truly recovered, or has it settled into a new and more fragile balance? Understanding this is key for designing policies that support stable jobs, fair pay, and inclusive growth in the future.

Romania’s labour market faced major structural challenges from 2000 to 2024. Employment rates have risen, but the number of employed individuals has reduced mainly due to demographic decline and emigration. The workforce is aging and young people face difficulties in transitioning from education to employment. Persistent disparities by gender, region, area of residence, education, and age constrain labour supply and deepen inequalities. Limited public resources and institutional and legislative weaknesses limit the effectiveness of labour market integration policies for vulnerable groups and allow informal employment to persist.

In the past 25 years, the Chilean labour market has observed a modernisation in terms of its transition to a service economy, but also in terms of its institutional robustness. It has seen a consistent growth in the labour force, driven by women’s entrance in the labour market, and a sustained increase in earnings from salaried work. However, it faces obstacles to drive growth through labour productivity and to ensure that growth translates to better socioeconomic outcomes for workers as a large low-productivity segment persists, also driving informality. These obstacles include lengthy permits, human capital deficits, low R&D investment, as well as slow technological adoption. Solving these issues requires coherent policy making beyond employment and labour policy.

The Portuguese labour market has stabilised after the 2010–2013 sovereign debt crisis, which pushed unemployment to a historic 18.5%. By 2025, the rate of unemployment has exhibited low-record levels reaching 5.9%. Long-term unemployment has declined, and the female employment rate reached historical values. Yet, several structural imbalances persist. Productivity levels remain low compared to European peers, and wages continue to struggle to keep pace with the cost of living.