oa Trends in de arbeidsmarktpositie van laagopgeleiden

Trends in the labour market position of lower educated people

When scholars study the labour market position of educational categories, one generally looks at the (relative) odds of unemployment versus employment. In the Netherlands there is no structural deterioration of the labour market position of the lower educated. This article builds on earlier research by, firstly, making a further subdivision in unemployment, disability, and working in one's household, and secondly, by looking at trends for males, females, age groups, and ethnic groups specifically. For some groups there seems to be a structural relative deterioration of the labour market position of lower educated individuals. For lower educated women of age 35 to 44, for instance, the odds of working in one's household declined less steeply than for higher educated women of age 35 to 44. In sum, general trends for the total group of lower educated people do not give rise to excessive concern, but further subdivisions do show some more specific changes in relative differences between the lower and the higher educated.