Youth Transitions and Job Quality: How Long Should They Wait and What Difference Does the Family Make?

Much attention has been devoted to the issues of job quality, the e ects of prolonged unemployment, and the in uence of families on youth transitions, whereas very little has been given to date to examining the interrelationship be- tween these dimensions. In this chapter, we explore the e ects of both persist- ent unemployment and employment continuity on the likelihood of obtaining a good-quality job 3 years a er acquiring a secondary or tertiary educational qual- i cation. We are also interested in understanding how family of origin a ects these strategic transitions for young people in Europe. Speci cally, we examine the following questions: 1. Does a longer period in unemployment lead to accessing a better job? 2. Does employment continuity in uence the chances of accessing a better job? 3. Does a bad entry job lead to more adverse employment outcomes later? 4. How does the social class of the family of origin mediate young people’s labor market outcomes?