Surely there are too many graduates now?

Abstract

This article updates earlier work which asked the question whether Australia was producing too many graduates, noting that the increase in the proportion of the workforce with degrees had been quite dramatic. That work dated from the mid 1990s, and the quick answer was that the lack of change in relative earnings implied very extensive changes in the structure of labour demand. However, the expansion of the proportion of the workforce with qualifications has continued at a remarkable rate and therefore it is timely to ask the question again. By examining the relationship between changes in the proportions of the workforce with different levels of education and changes in relative wages, the article estimates shifts in the demand for labour across the various levels of education.