Cohorts Experiences of Youth Labour Market Transitions in New Zealand

Abstract

This paper investigates the changing nature of young peoples' transition into the labour market over the last 30 years. The paper uses census data from 1976 to 2006 to compare the experiences of cohorts of young people born in New Zealand. A range of outcomes are analysed including living with parents, participation in education, employment, partnering, having children and migration. We find that transitions into the labour market have changed considerably over the last 30 years. We also find that the cohorts of young people born in the late 1960s and early 1970s experienced somewhat different outcomes compared to both the preceding as well as later cohorts. We attribute this to the fact that these cohorts entered the labour market in the late 1980s and early 1990s at a time of high overall unemployment. Our findings have important policy implications, particularly given the current recession and rising rates of youth unemployment.