The Careers of Immigrants in Finland: Empirical Evidence for Genders and Year of Immigration

Employment in youth and pension accumulation in Finland - how recent pension reforms account for early career employment

“…For instance, we have showed that young individuals with a foreign background have lower prevalence and intensity of employment than those with a Finnish background. This is the case regarding also older ages (e.g., Busk and Jauhiainen 2022). These patterns can result in vulnerable groups falling even further behind in pensions.…”

“…Finally, the share of immigrants in the population is comparably low in Finland (though rising) and immigrants are much more vulnerable in the labour market than those of Finnish background. (Busk and Jauhiainen, 2022). All these labour market-and education-related features are associated with employment rate and earnings among young individuals in Finland.…”

Barriers to employment for vulnerable groups in the Nordic countries

“…Among immigrants in Finland, lacking work experience is a hindrance to employment. Therefore, the period immediately after immigration seems crucial for accumulating work experience in the host country (Busk & Jauhiainen, 2021). Further, Norwegian researchers have used administrative data and a quasi-experimental design to show that lack of quali ications and skills negatively affect the employment opportunities among young people with mental health problems (Markussen & Røed, 2020).…”

“…Most likely, this is a smaller barrier to employment in the Nordic countries today compared to e.g., Southern Europe, due to the fact that responsibilities formerly considered to be familial are now managed, to a relatively large extent, by the Nordic welfare states. Nevertheless, research conducted in Finland has indicated that such responsibilities do pose an employment barrier, particularly for immigrant women, who are more likely to stay home for longer periods following childbirth (Tervola, 2020;Busk & Jauhiainen, 2021). Moreover, the persisting gender employment rate differences in all the Nordic countries (i.e., men being employed to a higher extent than women are) might also be due to, inter alia, gendered differences in societal expectations to care responsibilities.…”

“…The state of the economy can be a barrier for a number of different reasons. For example, research from Finland demonstrates that the social and economic conditions during the year of immigration have a lasting impact on future working years for the immigrating individuals (Busk & Jauhiainen, 2021).…”