Employment opportunities at entry into the labor market in Spain since the mid-1970s

Abstract

"The objectives of the research are: 1) to determine whether young people's job opportunities at the beginning of their careers have improved or worsened in Spain between 1976 and 2005, 2) to find out what individual characteristics favor or impede a good entry into the world of work, and 3) to find out how inequality according to gender, social class and educational level has evolved in a context where entry into the labor market is increasingly flexible. To this end, all of the trimesters of the Spanish Labor Force Survey were used, from the third trimester of 1976 to the third trimester of 2005. Two files were created, one with the typical ages at entry into the labor market according to level of studies and birth cohort, and the other with ages five years older than the previous ones. Logistic regressions and the artificial cohort method were used to analyze the likelihood of being employed, of having a fixed-term contract, and of being employed in an unskilled job for both of these life moments (entry into the labor market and the first steps in the labor market). With respect to the likelihood of being employed, the results show that entry into the labor market depends largely on the economic cycle. Insofar as concerns the quality of employment, young people today must face a reality that was unknown before the mid-eighties, namely temporary employment, despite the fact that the likelihood of working with a fixed-term contract has decreased slightly for the youngest cohorts. Similarly, the analyses show that temporary employment is, in most cases, a transitory state. As for the likelihood of occupying an unskilled position, the balance of the last thirty years is positive, because the change in the productive structure has favored young people's access to better positions, compared to their parents. Also, gender inequality has decreased, and social and educational level inequalities have not generally increased, although the results show nuances that will be further developed in the text." (author's abstract)