An Empirical Investigation into the Segmentation of the Labour Supply

This paper explores the empirical evidence for segmentation in the labour supply using survey data from a local labour market. Employees were clustered using variables relating to their work histories, current job attributes, employment expectations and personal attributes. Five clusters of employees were identified, which differed markedly in their past, present and expected future labour market behaviour. The main theoretical tenets of segmentation theorists were supported, in as much as the labour market was found to foster and perpetuate the advantages and disadvantages of identifiable groups of workers. The analyses presented in the paper suggest that this structuring of the labour supply is both complex and varied, giving rise, for example to several markedly different types of secondary workers. Examples are given of how this segmentation approach to analyzing labour markets can further our understanding of related phenomena, such as the position of women in the labour market and work values.