IER Newsletter - Current Issue

IER Newsletter - Aug/Sep 2026

IER is hiring a Research Fellow

The Institute for Employment Research (IER) is seeking to appoint an outstanding Research Fellow to strengthen its employment and labour markets research. We are looking for a labour economist or other social scientist possessing high-level quantitative skills who wants to undertake rigorous research addressing important labour market and related public policy questions. You will have strong applied quantitative research skills, including econometric and statistical methods, and experience of analysing labour market data. Read MoreLink opens in a new window

You will have the ability to produce rigorous academic research and communicate findings clearly to policymakers, practitioners and other non-academic audiences. The role provides an opportunity to develop your own area of research expertise while contributing to IER's wider programme of policy-relevant employment and labour market research.
Read more about the role on the University of Warwick website.

The deadline for applying is Sunday, 1st November 2026 at 11:59pm (UK time).

SkillPULSE research advances European skill shortages measurement

As part of the Horizon Europe-funded Skills PULSE project, a newly published study in Applied Economics introduces a novel empirical framework to identify and measure potential skill shortages across European labour markets. Co-authored by IER’s Dr Sangwoo Lee alongside Seamus McGuinness, Elisa Staffa, Lorcan Kelly, and Paul Redmond, the paper addresses a longstanding gap in the skills mismatch literature, where definitions of skill shortages vary widely and rely heavily on subjective employer surveys. Read MoreLink opens in a new window

To overcome these limitations, the research team developed an objective measurement approach that benchmarks real-time job advertisement data from Lightcast against employee survey data from the 2021 European Skills and Jobs Survey (ESJS2). By anchoring online vacancy criteria to the actual distribution of skills and competencies utilised in the labour market, the model creates a reliable, replicable indicator for annual tracking across EU member states.

Crucially, the methodology distinguishes genuine skill shortages from broader labour shortages—such as those caused by low wages or poor working conditions—by setting strict multi-dimensional thresholds around job complexity, task volume, prior experience, posting duration, and above-average pay.

Using this framework, the study estimates that approximately 2% of all vacancies across the EU represent genuine potential skill shortages. These shortages are predominantly concentrated in high-skilled managerial and technical occupations, particularly ICT Professionals, Business and Administration Professionals, and Administrative and Commercial Managers.

Furthermore, the findings reveal that potential skill shortages correlate strongly with occupations experiencing rapid changes in skill requirements over time. Overall, this research provides policymakers with a standardised tool to evaluate labour market tightness, track the impact of skills policies, and benchmark national performance.

Full Citation: McGuinness, S., Staffa, E., Kelly, L., Redmond, P., & Lee, S. (2026). Developing a new European indicator of potential skill shortagesLink opens in a new window. Applied Economics.

Trialling an evaluation framework for LLM-powered careers advice

The Inception Report for this Nuffield Foundation-funded project has been published. It has been developed in consultation with the thirty-person project Advisory Group, which includes widespread representation across the careers sector.
Dickinson, P., Percy, C., Hughes, D., Anelli, G. and Ramos, V. (2026). Trialling an Evaluation Framework for LLM-Powered Careers Advice. Inception ReportLink opens in a new window.

IER research featured at British Academy Roundtable on ‘good jobs’ and graduate outcomes

On 14 September, Dr Sangwoo Lee presented at an expert roundtable hosted by the British Academy at Carlton House Terrace in London.

Chaired by Professor Sir Richard Blundell (UCL/IFS), the session brought together leading researchers, sector representatives, and policymakers, including attendees from the Department for Education, Skills England, the Office for Students, Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)/Jisc, TASO, and the Resolution Foundation, to examine what constitutes a “good graduate outcome” and explore how policy can better capture the nuances of the graduate labour market. Read MoreLink opens in a new window

Presenting in the session on Measuring Job Quality, Dr Lee shared findings from his recent research on multidimensional graduate job quality premiums across the UK and Europe. His presentation argued that conventional evaluative metrics, which rely heavily on gross earnings and standard employment status, fail to capture the realities of modern graduate employment.

In today’s labour market, graduates increasingly weigh trade-offs between tangible financial returns and intangible workplace benefits, including task autonomy, working conditions, career development, and intrinsic meaning.

Dr Lee proposed embedding a rigorous, multidimensional job quality framework into official graduate outcome evaluations to offer a more holistic definition of "good work."

The presentation contributed to an engaging discussion alongside presentations from Imran Tahir (Institute for Fiscal Studies) and Tej Nathwani (HESA/Jisc), addressing how existing survey measures and administrative datasets might be developed to track job quality across UK regions and sectors.

IER was also represented at the roundtable by Professor Peter Elias and Gabriel Atfield, contributing to discussions on skills, regional inequality, and the future data infrastructure needed to assess fair and sustainable work across the UK.

IER welcomes Dr Ruth Beresford

Ruth joined IER in July. A sociologist by background, Ruth uses qualitative methods to research workplace sexual harassment, particularly focusing on workers’ lived experiences, low-paid and/or insecure work, and sectoral analyses of sexual harassment.
Read MoreLink opens in a new window

Her research interests include workplace inequalities, workplace harms, low paid and/or precarious work, regulation and enforcement, worker experiences and trade unions. Ruth often uses feminist research methods, participatory research approaches and creative methods within her research. Ruth previously worked at Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield.

Ruth Beresford cited in an EHRC research report on workplace harassment

Dr Ruth Beresford has been quoted in a reportLink opens in a new window commissioned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on workplace harassment. The report publishes a rapid evidence review conducted on behalf of the EHRC by the Open Innovation Team. Ruth was one of eleven academic experts interviewed for the research, which also cites a report Ruth co-authored on workplace sexual harassment in low-paid and precarious hospitality work as key evidence for the link between precarious work and risk of sexual harassment.

Other publications

Larsen, T.P., Sarter, E.K. and Warhurst, C. (2026) United Kingdom Case Study Report. In: Larsen et al. (2026). GIG-OSH Case Study Report. Regulating the platform economy – recent OSH policy and practice debates and developments. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22299619Link opens in a new window, pp. 75-99.

Larsen, T.P, Sarter, E.K. and Ilsøe, A. (2026) Denmark Stock-Taking Report. In Kokkinen et al. GIG-OSH Stock-Taking Report. Regulating Occupational Safety and Health in the Platform Economy. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22255052Link opens in a new window, pp. 26- 73.

Baldauf, B. and Warhurst, C. (2026). United Kingdom Stock -Taking Report. In Kokkinen et al., GIG-OSH Stock-Taking Report. Regulating Occupational Safety and Health in the Platform Economy. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22255052Link opens in a new window, pp. 178 – 205.

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