Labour Market Performance of Indigenous University Graduates in Australia An ORU Perspective

Abstract

Indigenous Australians experience disadvantage in many aspects of life, including the areas of health, socioeconomic and labour market status. This study uses data from the Graduate Destination Surveys 1999 to 2011 to assess the performance of Indigenous Australian graduates relative to non-Indigenous Australian graduates, using the Overeducation, Required, and Undereducation framework. Indigenous Australians are found to be less likely to be overeducated, and have comparable earnings with their non-Indigenous counterparts. On the whole, Indigenous graduates perform positively in the labour market and initiatives targeted at Indigenous participation and completion of higher education should be supported.

JEL Classification: J310, J700, J150, I240, I280