In the European labour market, young people have been disproportionally affected by job insecurity indicated by unemployment, inactivity, job precariousness and fragmented careers during and after the economic crisis of 2008. This may be crucial for their ability to maintain a living income and to live a decent life now and in the future. The increasing polarisation in the labour market may become a persistent structural feature in the conditions of the changing employment structures and flexibilization of labour.

The newest NEGOTIATE working paper “Institutional determinants of early job insecurity in nine European countries” developed by partners from Masaryk University – Ondrey Hora, Marketa Horakova, and Tomas Sirovatka, looks at four policy areas: education; employment and wage protection; active labour market policy, and unemployment protection in nine European countries during the crisis and beyond.

The crucial contribution of the paper is not only mapping the policy changes and different policy patterns/types during the crisis, but also considering the synergy of the labour market related policies while adding education policy, which has not often been considered in the typologies of employment regimes. However, it is a crucial element when considering the labour market inclusion of young people and their labour market transitions.

Authors consider the synergy of the four policy fields as a key issue for the employment outcomes. While education systems are expected to prepare young people for successful entry into the labour market, ALMPs are facilitating and supporting them during transitions to employment, employment protection is providing them with security to retain the newly gained job, and unemployment protection helps them to prevent economic hardship and to re-product their human potential when a job is not available.

The carried out analysis shows that crisis was a stimulus to the prevailing flexibilization trend; in the countries of the sub-protective regime, it was the strongest, leading to weaker job protection for the regular workforce (insiders). On the other hand, improvements for the entrants were only minor, leaving young people in a disadvantaged position regarding employment protection. Similarly, the reforms in income protection during unemployment brought some improvements for those with sufficient work records, while providing less security for those who lack them, young people included.

Read the working paper and learn more about its findings here (pdf)