Patterns of intragenerational social mobility: An analysis of heterogeneity of occupational careers

Career Stability in 14 Finnish Industrial Employee Cohorts in 1988–2015

“…Despite commonly held assumptions, earlier international longitudinal analyses have found no significant changes in the work careers of employed populations over time, either in the US or in Europe. The empirical evidence contradicts the fragmentation hypothesis (Järvinen et al 2020;Rokkanen & Uusitalo 2013), or supports only modest changes (Biemann et al 2011;Hollister 2011;Stawarz 2018;Van Winkle & Fasang 2017). Stawarz (2018), for example, has observed that once a person is employed, there are only modest changes in intragenerational social mobility over time.…”

“…The empirical evidence contradicts the fragmentation hypothesis (Järvinen et al 2020;Rokkanen & Uusitalo 2013), or supports only modest changes (Biemann et al 2011;Hollister 2011;Stawarz 2018;Van Winkle & Fasang 2017). Stawarz (2018), for example, has observed that once a person is employed, there are only modest changes in intragenerational social mobility over time. Stawarz compared 20-year-long careers in German cohorts born in the 1930s-1980s, and found some increase in career heterogeneity in men, as measured by the international standard classification of occupations (ISCO) between cohorts, as well as in inter-and intra-firm transitions.…”

“…For one thing, careers continue to remain gendered. In many industrial economies women's labor market participation is increasingly equal to men's, but even highly educated young women tend to have more fragmented careers, earn less than young men and take longer parental leaves (Aisenbrey & Fasang 2017;Kuitto et al 2019;Möhring 2016;Stawarz 2018). Along with unemployment, parental leaves are the main reason for early and mid-career breaks (Aisenbrey & Fasang 2017;Brückner & Mayer 2005;Kuitto et al 2019).…”

“…Along with unemployment, parental leaves are the main reason for early and mid-career breaks (Aisenbrey & Fasang 2017;Brückner & Mayer 2005;Kuitto et al 2019). After family formation, women often enter part-time jobs, switch industries, and are exposed to downward mobility and lower wages (Brückner & Mayer 2005;Buchmann et al 2010;Cech & Blair-Loy 2019;Stawarz 2018). If displaced, women have a harder time regaining their previous earnings level than men do (Jolkkonen et al 2012).…”

“…We will test the hypothesis that younger cohorts have endured more fragmented mid-careers than older cohorts (e.g., France 2016). Moreover, since population-level studies suggest only modest changes in careers across generations (Becker & Blossfeld 2017;Hollister 2011;Stawarz 2018;Van Winkle & Fasang 2017), we also hypothesize that inequality between industrial employees with low and high levels of education, and between men and women, persists. Finally, we hypothesize that economic fluctuations continue to play an important role in career instability.…”