The second session will discuss the consequences of labour market marginalisation from different angles. Christian Imdorf, University of Basel (Switzerland) and Rumiana Stoilova, Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge (Bulgaria) will address the role of employers in the inclusion of young job applicants into the labour market, and how the views of employers contrast those of young job candidates. The NEGOTIATE policy brief ‘Employers assessments of young job applicants: Findings from a comparative study (pdf)’, shows that recruiters tend to penalise job applicants with extensive work experience in deskilling jobs, a history of job-hopping and unemployment. Therefore, recruiter behaviour contributes to the “scarred” youth of Europe, who struggle to find their way out of an insecure job career. The results suggest that unemployment measures aiming at a quick labour market integration of the young unemployed without considering job quality is not a sustainable solution, as deskilling jobs may be dead-end jobs that might even decrease young people’s employability in the long-run. 

The second part of the session includes presentations by Sara Ayllón Gatnau, University of Girona (Spain) and Piotr Michoń, Poznań University of Economics (Poland) who provide insights into the effects of job insecurity beyond the labour market. Their research on the transitions to adulthood in the context of the economic crisis (pdf) shows that that young Europeans were more likely to enroll in education during the recent economic crisis. However, youth in households at the lowest end of the income distribution were significantly less likely to choose this strategy than their richer counterparts. This result hints at growing social inequalities in human capital accumulation across Europe as a consequence of the recession. Further, their research documents that early job-insecurity cannot unequivocally be related to fertility. The NEGOTIATE policy brief ‘the consequences of early job insecurity and labour market marginalisation: Subjective and objective well-being (pdf)’, shows that quality employment is key to protect young Europeans from negative effects of job-insecurity on well-being. Taking into account individuals’ well-being, young people should not be pushed into taking up “any kind of employment”. Hence, our researchers stresses the positive role of quality employment and decent jobs in securing the future inclusion of youth in the labour market.

Join us to discuss the outcomes of the research project and its policy recommendations together with the involved scholars, policy makers, civil society and youth.