Journal profile · INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS & LABOR
Industrial Relations Journal
ISSN 0019-8692 · eISSN 1468-2338 · Wiley-Blackwell
Industrial Relations Journal: CAS Zone 3 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.9 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,900; median 148 days to acceptance (68 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 24% (journal website); 55 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Industrial Relations Journal is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 3 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Labor Movements and Unions, Employment and Welfare Studies and Social Policy and Reform Studies, together about 63.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Industrial Relations Journal is a cutting edge, research based, peer reviewed publication focusing on the changing nature, forms and regulation of the employment relationship. Edited by Professor Peter Nolan, the Journal welcomes contributions that further understanding of industrial relations, labour markets, and the organisation and future of work. With a strong international embrace, the Journal has been at the forefront of the contemporary analysis of state, capital and labour relations in a period of crisis and institutional flux. It aims to lift the quality of academic and policy debate through the publication of theoretically and historically grounded studies of the shifting character of industrial relations in the twenty first century.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS & LABOR
Editor-in-chief Peter NolanPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Labor Movements and UnionsSocial Sciences38.5%
- Employment and Welfare StudiesHealth Professions12.7%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences12.3%
- Digital Economy and Work TransformationSocial Sciences3.7%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering3.1%
- Political and Economic history of UK and USSocial Sciences2.8%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance2.8%
- International Labor and Employment LawSocial Sciences2.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Industrial Relations & Labor | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Industrial Relations & Labor | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceINSPECPsycINFOPublisher website
Other: ProQuest
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.77LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.07LetPub ·
- h-index
- 69OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 725OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.45OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 15.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 82.42%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 37LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 42Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 121,543Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,401 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 31 | 17 | 4 |
| 2025 | 55 | 41 | 85 |
| 2024 | 40 | 31 | 220 |
| 2023 | 37 | 29 | 124 |
| 2022 | 41 | 25 | 292 |
| 2021 | 48 | 31 | 421 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
148 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 59 days – 248 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 14 days (69 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 158 days
- Sample
- 68 articles with submission and acceptance dates (86 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 24%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 24%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 195 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 2,900 / EUR 2,390 / GBP 1,930 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted8
- book reviewArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract / Structure Other Requirements Original Papers reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a …Length not stated
- book reviews (by invitation or submission)Book Reviews (by invitation or submission) Reviews of books in the field. Books for review can be sent to the Book Reviews EditorLength not stated
- comprehensive reviews (by invitation only)Comprehensive Reviews (by invitation only) critical reviews of the literature, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses (seek editorail guidance)Length not stated
- meta-analysisArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract / Structure Other Requirements Original Papers reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a …Length not stated
- original paperArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract / Structure Other Requirements Original Papers reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a …Length not stated
- original papersOriginal Papers reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant contribution to knowledgeLength not stated
- reviewArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract / Structure Other Requirements Original Papers reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a …Length not stated
- systematic reviewArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract / Structure Other Requirements Original Papers reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteLicense & copyright, Peer review, Preprints
- License & copyright
Creative Commons licenses Model summary
This journal uses the CC-BY, CC-BY-NC and CC-BY-NC-ND Creative Commons License.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 1. Submission and Peer Review Process
Double-blind peer review policy Model summary
Once the submission materials have been prepared in accordance with the Author Guidelines, manuscripts should be submitted online at https://authors.wiley.com/journal/IRJFor help with submissions, please contact: irjoffice@wiley.comThis journal does not charge submission fees. Anonymization Important: Industrial Relations Journal operates a double-blind peer review policy. Please ensure that all i…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprint policy Model summary
Industrial Relations Journal will consider for review articles previously available as preprints. You may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to a preprint server at any time.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0019-8692
- Electronic ISSN
- 1468-2338
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 57, Issue 5 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Industrial Relations Journal
What CAS zone is Industrial Relations Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Industrial Relations Journal is in Zone 3 of Management, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Industrial Relations & Labor. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Industrial Relations Journal?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.9 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.7, h-index 69.
How long does peer review take at Industrial Relations Journal?
Based on the dates recorded on 68 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 148 days (interquartile range 59–248 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 24% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index Industrial Relations Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Industrial Relations Journal is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, INSPEC and PsycINFO; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Industrial Relations Journal open access, and what is the APC?
Industrial Relations Journal is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,900.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .