Macroeconomic Conditions at Entry and Injury Risk at the Workplace

Using a unique dataset from Italy, we show that the local unemployment rate at entry has a persistent positive effect on severe and non-severe workplace injuries of young workers. Entrants during recessions, although receiving marginally higher entry wages, also experience slower wage growth. The observed pattern in the differences between severe and non-severe injuries indicates that entrants during recession may underreport non-severe workplace injuries. Our findings suggest that workers entering during recession are persistently locked into low-quality jobs and that the mix of hazardous tasks endogenously adjusts to the business cycle.