Does unemployment help or hinder becoming independent?

Abstract

"There are two broad trends in industrialised countries motivating this paper: On the one hand, the life phase between youth and adulthood has prolonged and diversified; on the other hand, entering the labour market has become more complex and insecure. In this paper we combine two aspects of these trends by analysing the effect of unemployment on leaving home. Extending previous research, we use a resource-oriented theoretical framework that allows us to elaborate the impact of employment related resources of different actors. Our main hypothesis is that availability of employment related resources matters for leaving home. Further we assume that several actors are involved in the decision for leaving home: individual, welfare state, parents and partner. Resources of each can be pooled, and resources of other actors can compensate for own shortages. In the analyses we use life history data of two birth cohorts in West Germany. We find that for young adults with partners own unemployment accelerates leaving home, while for singles leaving home is delayed. Parental unemployment or unemployment compensation benefits also have only an effect if young adults have no partners. Thus, partnership status plays a crucial role in shaping the transitions of youth to residential independence." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Jacob, M. & Kleinert, C. (2008): Does unemployment help or hinder becoming independent? The role of employment status for leaving the parental home. In: European Sociological Review, Vol. 24, No. 2, p. 141-153. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcm038