Youth Labour Market Outcomes in Estonia: What Kind of Jobs Do Recent School Leavers Hold?

Mari Toomse

University of Tartu

Abstract. The transition from education to working life plays a crucial role in the lives of young people. This paper concentrates on the effect of personal characteristics and historical time on the socio-economic status and class membership of school leavers’ first job. Empirical results based on Estonian Labour Force Survey show a significant effect of ascribed characteristics, social background and educational level. The impact of aforementioned characteristics is also found to vary depending on the time of labour market entry.