What is it about?

We investigated whether the mid-career stability of Finnish men and women has changed for the birth cohorts 1958 to 1972 and, if so, what the driving forces are behind such changes. We distinguished between sectors that are exposed to a greater or lesser extent to global competition, those that are characterized by goods production or service provision, and those that are part of the market or non-market sector. The results show little change in mid-career stability across cohorts.

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Why is it important?

It is often argued that Increasing numbers of wage and salary earners are running the risk of discontinuous and fragmented careers. However, empirical evidence for the career destabilization hypothesis is lacking or at best inconclusive.

Perspectives

We continue to live in turbulent times in which labour markets and the nature of work seem to be changing fast. Nevertheless, our study shows that amid all this turbulence, mid-careers are relatively stable. It is possible that Finnish mid-careers are particularly stable, even in times of economic shocks, because at age 30 many people have had the chance to settle into a steady job and have built up rights for employment protection and earnings-related social security. It is not unlikely that changes in early-career stability have been more drastic. Slow change, however, also means that disparities in career stability tend to persist. Women, the lower-educated, those in less-developed regions, and workers in certain sectors are especially at risk of unstable employment careers, possibly with detrimental consequences for the further life course.

Pasi Pyöriä
Tampereen yliopisto

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This page is a summary of: Career stability in turbulent times: A cross-cohort study of mid-careers in Finland, Acta Sociologica, January 2021, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0001699320983422.
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