RDP 2023-02: Did Labour Market Concentration Lower Wages Growth Pre-COVID? Appendix A: Additional charts and tables

Jonathan Hambur

March 2023

Figure A1: Employment by industry, LEED versus ABS LFS, 2002 to 2016
Figure A1: Employment by industry, LEED versus ABS LFS, 2002 to 2016 - This chart shows bars for employment counts by industry division for the ABS LFS, and the LEED data used in the paper. The key message is that these are generally quite similar across divisions.

Notes: ABS data is from Labour Force Survey detailed and is on a person basis. LEED is on a job basis. As such, sectors with high rates of multiple-job holdings like retail are larger in LEED. LEED also excludes self-employed, which may be more important in construction. The higher employment in Administrative Services reflects differences in how employment in labour hire and employment services are captured in tax data (often via the service providers), compared to in labour statistics (often via the end employer).

Source: Author's calculations; ABS

Table A1: Concentration summary statistics – Wage-based HHI
  Unweighted Weighted
25th percentile 0.186 0.011
Median 0.363 0.031
Mean 0.401 0.103
75th percentile 0.584 0.133
Note: Reports summary statistics for local labour markets. Average taken for each market across 2005–2016.
Figure A2: Unweighted average employment HHI for 2005-2016, by working zone
Figure A2: Unweighted average employment HHI for 2005-2016, by working zone - This chart shows a map of Australia, broken into the working zones shown used in this paper. The working zones are coloured based on the degree of concentration in the market. The key message is that areas around capital city are less concentrated (as indicated by lighter colours).
Figure A3: Average sage HHI over time
Figure A3: Average sage HHI over time - This chart shows the average HHI across markets over time, using unweighted averages of markets, and employment-weighted averages, based on wages rather than heads concentration. The unweighted is higher, but has been fairly stable. The weighted is lower, but has trended slightly down over the period 2005-2016. The right chart is very similar but using 2-digit ANZSIC industries to define local markets.
Figure A4: Average employment HHI over time, ANZSIC 2-digit industries
Figure A4: Average employment HHI over time, ANZSIC 2-digit industries - This chart is very similar to Figure A3, but using 2-digit ANZSIC industries to define local markets.

Source: Author's calculations

Figure A5: Average employment HHI over time, SA4/Greater Capital City location
Figure A5: Average employment HHI over time, SA4/Greater Capital City location - This chart shows the average HHI across markets over time, using unweighted averages of markets, and employment-weighted averages, based on SA4 locations. The unweighted is higher, but has been fairly stable. The weighted is lower, but has trended slightly down over the period 2005-2016. The right chart is very similar but using ANZSIC divisions and 2-digit ANZSCO codes to define local markets.
Figure A6: Average employment HHI over time, ANZSIC division by ANZSCO 2-digit occupations
Figure A6: Average employment HHI over time, ANZSIC division by ANZSCO 2-digit occupations - This chart is very similar to Figure A5, but using ANZSIC divisions and 2-digit ANZSCO codes to define local markets.

Source: Author's calculations

Figure A7: Entry rate vs old-to-old firm job-to-job switching by SA4 for 2002-2016
Figure A7: Entry rate vs old-to-old firm job-to-job switching by SA4 for 2002-2016 - This chart is a scatter plot of entry rates for areas, against job switching rates from mature to mature firms in the area. The relationship is fairly weak. The right chart plots entry rates against job switching between mature and young firms. There is a strong positive relationship with switching being more frequent when entry is higher.
Figure A8: Entry rate vs young-to-old firm job-to-job switching by SA4 for 2002-2016
Figure A8: Entry rate vs young-to-old firm job-to-job switching by SA4 for 2002-2016 - This chart plots entry rates against job switching between mature and young firms. There is a strong positive relationship with switching being more frequent when entry is higher.

Note: Plots entry rates for SA4s or greater capital city areas versus the job-to-job switching rate. This is shown having residualised with respect to time effects, area effects, and the employment share of young firms. Approximately 780 SA4*year combinations based on 120 million workers.

Source: Author's calculations