What are the key aspects of economic precariousness and which are most relevant to analysing young people’s lives? In this study we use data from the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) to identify the proportion of men and women aged 18-34 who might be considered to be in an economically precarious situation and investigate how the dimensions of precariousness are interrelated. This paper summarises findings from the CPC Working Paper 55

Berrington, Ann

Roberts, Steven

Tammes, Peter

English

Southampton (e-Prints Soton)

www.cpc.ac.uk Improving our understanding of the key drivers and implications of population changeWhat are the key aspects of economic precariousness and which are most relevant to analysing young people’s lives? In this study we use data from the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) to identify the proportion of men and women aged 18-34 who might be considered to be in an economically precarious situation and investigate how the dimensions of precariousness are interrelated. This paper summarises findings from the CPC Working Paper 55.  Measuring economic precarity among UK youth during the recessionCPCcentre for population changeESRC Centre for Population Change l Briefing 22 l  November 2014Key Points•  Young adults face increased economic uncertainty as a result of unemployment and the growth of low-paid and often part-time employment.•  Temporary contracts are concentrated among the youngest age groups and are found to be relatively uncommon among those in their late twenties and early thirties. •  Part time working among non-students is common in young adulthood– for example 14% and 21% of employed men and women aged 22-24 are in part-time work.•  Whilst occupational mobility does occur across the young adulthood phase, one in five employed men and women aged 30-34 are in a semi-routine or routine job. •  Young adults working in semi-routine or routine jobs face multiple facets of precarity: they are more likely to be in the lowest income quartile, work part-time and to be on a temporary contract.Introduction Young adults face increased economic uncertainty as a result of unemployment and the growth of low-paid,  insecure  and  often  part-time  employment. This research is motivated by the need to identify how we can measure economic uncertainty among young adults, to identify which groups are most at risk of economic uncertainty and to assess how economic precariousness differs across genders and across the young adult age range. The study The aims of this research are: •  To  explore  how  different  aspects  of precariousness  can  be  measured  using quantitative data;•   To use these indicators to provide estimates of precarity amongst young people aged 18-34;•   To examine how the different dimensions of precarity are interrelated.             Measuring economic precarity among UK youth during the recessionESRC Centre for Population Change • Briefing 22We  use  data  from  the  first  wave  of  the  United Kingdom  Household  Longitudinal  Study (UKHLS)  which  was  conducted  in  2009/10,  at the height of the economic downturn. By looking at men and women separately and breaking the analysis down by age we get beneath aggregate summary statistics and provide new insights into how  young  people’s  experience  of  employment changes across the young adult age range.   Main findings What indicates economic precariousness among young adults?Three dimensions of economic precariousness are identified from the literature: 1)  Labour  market  precarity,  which  relates  to whether the respondent has a job, occupational mobility and income security;2)  Precarious  employment  relations,  which includes whether the individual is working less than full time, or is on a temporary contract;3)  Precarious  social  and  political  relations, which includes access to welfare benefits and acknowledges the role that partners, parents and other family members play in avoiding economic precariousness. This  work  provides  evidence  on  the  first  two dimensions. Unemployment  and  Not  in  Employment, Education or Training  (NEET) statusUnemployment is generally higher among young men  than  among  young  women,  and  peaks  for men in their early twenties (16% of men aged 22 - 24). If unemployment is used as an indicator of economic uncertainty young men appear more precarious  than  young  women.  However,  if  not being  in  employment,  education  or  training  is taken as an indicator of vulnerability, the greater tendency for women to undertake family care means more women are classified as precarious than men (24% of women aged 22-24 are NEET compared to 18% of men). Occupational mobilityOccupational mobility is related to labour market security.  In  the  UK,  young  people  in  particular have  been  affected  by  increased  casualization of  the  labour  market  because  they  tend  to  be concentrated in elementary jobs in sectors such as retail and hospitality. We find over half of employed 18-21 year olds, (one in five of all 18-21 year olds) are in routine or semi-routine jobs (Figure 1). Figure 1: Percentage of young adults in occupational class by gender and age group, UK	 ﾠ0%	 ﾠ10%	 ﾠ20%	 ﾠ30%	 ﾠ40%	 ﾠ50%	 ﾠ60%	 ﾠ70%	 ﾠ80%	 ﾠ90%	 ﾠ100%	 ﾠ18-ﾭ‐21	 ﾠ 22-ﾭ‐24	 ﾠ 25-ﾭ‐29	 ﾠ 30-ﾭ‐34	 ﾠ 18-ﾭ‐21	 ﾠ 22-ﾭ‐24	 ﾠ 25-ﾭ‐29	 ﾠ 30-ﾭ‐34	 ﾠMen	 ﾠ Women	 ﾠManagerial/professional	 ﾠ	 ﾠIntermediate/lower	 ﾠsupervisory/technical	 ﾠSemi-ﾭ‐rouGne/rouGne	 ﾠSelf	 ﾠemployed	 ﾠNot	 ﾠemployed	 ﾠ	 ﾠSource: author’s analyses of UKHLS, wave 1, 2009/10Note:  “Not  employed”  includes  the  unemployed  and  those  economically  inactive  e.g.  students  and individuals undertaking family care.ESRC Centre for Population Change • Briefing 22Whilst many young adults rise up the occupational hierarchy as they age and gain appropriate experience and qualifications, a sizeable proportion, about one in five employed young adults, remain in a semi-routine job in their early thirties.  10% of  all  men  aged  30-34  report  themself  as  self-employed  (‘Small  employer  and  own  account workers’,  Figure  1).  Whilst  for  some  individuals this represents entrepreneurial success, we find a  significant  proportion  of  self-employed  in  the lowest personal income quartile, suggesting that for others low-paid self-employment is a new form of precarious work. Temporary contractsRelatively few men and women are on temporary contracts,  especially  if  compared  with  figures published for other European countries. However, temporary contracts are most prevalent among those aged 18-21 (around 16% of those in work), declining to around 12% among employed 22-24 year olds and 7% for those aged 25-29 and 30-34.  Part-time workEmployment  insecurity  resulting  from  part-time work is far more common than temporary contracts among UK youth. Among those whose main activity is ‘employed’ (i.e. excluding students) almost one third of women aged 18-21 and one in five men aged  18-21  are  working  part-time.  Comparable figures for those aged 22-24 are 14% and 21% respectively. Whilst part-time working is much less common for men aged 30-34  (around 6% of those employed),  around  one  third  of  women  in  their early thirties work less than 30 hours a week. Young adults often face multiple dimensions of precariousnessYoung adults working in semi-routine and routine jobs  often  face  multiple  aspects  of  economic insecurity: they are more likely to be in the lowest income quartile, on a temporary contract and to be working part-time (Figure 2). Among young men aged  18-24,  three  times  as  many  routine/semi-routine workers are working part-time  compared to those in managerial and professional jobs (30% versus  10%).    The  association  between  semi-routine  and  routine  jobs  and  part-time  work  is especially strong for women aged 25-34. Over half of the women in semi-routine and routine jobs are part-time workers compared to 16% of women in professional and managerial occupations (Figure 2).Figure 2: Percentage of employed men and women who are part-time according to age group and occupation, UKSource: author’s analyses of UKHLS, wave 1, 2009/10	 ﾠ0	 ﾠ 10	 ﾠ 20	 ﾠ 30	 ﾠ 40	 ﾠ 50	 ﾠ 60	 ﾠManagerial/professional	 ﾠ	 ﾠIntermediate/lower	 ﾠsupvervisory/technical	 ﾠSemi-ﾭ‐rouBne/rouBne	 ﾠManagerial/professional	 ﾠ	 ﾠIntermediate/lower	 ﾠsupvervisory/technical	 ﾠSemi-ﾭ‐rouBne/rouBne	 ﾠManagerial/professional	 ﾠ	 ﾠIntermediate/lower	 ﾠsupvervisory/technical	 ﾠSemi-ﾭ‐rouBne/rouBne	 ﾠManagerial/professional	 ﾠ	 ﾠIntermediate/lower	 ﾠsupvervisory/technical	 ﾠSemi-ﾭ‐rouBne/rouBne	 ﾠ18-ﾭ‐24	 ﾠ25-ﾭ‐34	 ﾠ18-ﾭ‐24	 ﾠ25-ﾭ‐34	 ﾠmen	 ﾠwomen	 ﾠ            Measuring economic precarity among UK youth during the recessionThe association between routine and semi-routine work and temporary contracts is strongest at younger ages: 18% of men and 15% of women aged 18-24 in routine and semi-routine jobs are on temporary contracts. Above age 25 most of those   those  employed,  including  those  in  routine  and semi-routine  jobs,  are  on  permanent  contracts. For men in particular there is a strong association between being on a temporary contract and working part-time, and between temporary contracts and low personal income.  Policy implicationsOur analyses suggest that it is not just those at the start of their working career who are concentrated in relatively low paid work: one in five men and women  in  their  early  thirties  are  in  semi-routine or  routine  jobs.  Policies  need  to  be  developed to support pay and skills progression among young adults working in such jobs.  In addition, uncertainties associated with the increased number in self-employment need to be recognised since those in this group may face more difficulty making stable transitions to adulthood. Temporary  contracts  were  not  found  to  be  as widespread as they are in other European countries, suggesting  that  UK  labour  market  adjustments have tended to relate to increased wage inequality, whereas for example in Mediterranean countries the adjustments have been based on an increased inequality  in  job  security.  However,  a  significant proportion of young adults work less than 30 hours a week, consistent with recent studies highlighting the rise of short hours and zero hours contracts. The Government needs to consider how best to regulate these types of contracts to help support young adults make successful transitions to adulthood  e.g.  to  independent  living,  forming successful and stable families. Authors   Ann Berrington  (University of Southampton, CPC)  Peter Tammes (University of Bristol, CPC)  Steven Roberts  (University of Kent, CPC)  Edited by Teresa McGowan & Genna West (University of Southampton, CPC) ESRC Centre for Population Change  Building 58Faculty of Social and Human SciencesUniversity of SouthamptonSO17 1BJTel: +44(0)2380592579Email: cpc@southampton.ac.uk www.cpc.ac.ukCPC_PopulationCPCPopulation esrc-centre-for-population-changecentre-for-population-change             Measuring economic precarity among UK youth during the recession

Measuring economic precarity among UK youth during the recession

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