The diversity of transitions during early adulthood in the Finnish labour market.

This study explores young Finns' transition pathways into education and work over a 9-year period (from the age of 18 to 26), with a special focus on difficulties with labour market attachment. The data were derived from national registers comprising all men (29,383) and women (27,784) born in 1987. Their labour market attachment was investigated using trajectory analysis with four variables (employment, education, unemployment, social security allowances) from 2005 to 2013. We identified 10 trajectory groups, of which 7 in men and 8 in women were categorised as 'mainstream paths', reflecting relatively smooth transitions. The other trajectory groups were considered to assume 'straying paths': 11% of both men and women followed these paths. The size and nature of these paths differed between men and women: it seems that men more often have serious difficulties with labour market attachment than women do. Overall, the results of the multiple variable trajectory analyses suggest that cross-sectional inspections of the Finnish register data overestimate the proportion of NEETs, particularly among men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]