High youth unemployment is also likely to increase income inequality, even beyond the short term, as a number of studies report a significant lasting effect of spells of unemployment on earnings (Arulampalam, 2000, Gregg and Tominey, 2005). Mean wages in national currencies at constant 2005 values. Countries ranked in ascending order of changes in earnings inequality. Higher female employment generally reduces inequality across the OECD, though this depends on the extent to which women entering work are in couples with high or low earners.