Volume 27 - Article 25 | Pages 719–742  

Labor-market status, migrant status and first childbearing in Sweden

By Karin Lundström, Gunnar Andersson

This article is part of the Special Collection 12 „Economic uncertainty and family dynamics in Europe“

Abstract

Background: Labor market uncertainties and employment insecurity have emerged as increasingly important factors in research on family formation and fertility.

Objective: In the present study, we provide evidence from Sweden on how non-employment, unemployment, and temporary employment relate to young people’s first birth risks.

Methods: We use a combination of Labor Force Survey data on employment characteristics and register data on demographic outcomes to investigate how the labor market status and stability of employment are associated with the first birth behavior of women and men, and of Swedish- and foreign-born people in Sweden.

Results: Consistent with previous research, we find that people who are not in the labor force are less likely than those who are employed to enter parenthood. In most cases, we also find that young people who are in temporary employment are less likely than those who are permanently employed to start a family.

Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that foreign-born people living in Sweden tend to adapt to the behavior of native-born Swedes, and that patterns for women and men are largely similar. We relate these findings to the equalizing impact of the country’s universal welfare regime.

Author’s Affiliation

• Karin Lundström - Statistiska centralbyrån (Statistics Sweden), Sweden EMAIL
• Gunnar Andersson - Stockholms Universitet, Sweden EMAIL

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Lives saved, lives lost, and under-reported COVID-19 deaths: Excess and non-excess mortality in relation to cause-specific mortality during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden
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Geographical distance between child and parent after a union dissolution in Sweden, 1974–2011
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Disentangling the Swedish fertility decline of the 2010s
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Life-table representations of family dynamics in the 21st century
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Depressed fertility among descendants of immigrants in Sweden
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Marriage and divorce of immigrants and descendants of immigrants in Sweden
Volume 33 - Article 2

Economic Uncertainty and Family Dynamics in Europe: Introduction
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High Suburban Fertility: Evidence from Four Northern European Countries
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Cohort fertility patterns in the Nordic countries
Volume 20 - Article 14

Childbearing dynamics of couples in a universalistic welfare state: The role of labor-market status, country of origin, and gender
Volume 17 - Article 30

Migration and first-time parenthood: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan
Volume 17 - Article 25

Understanding parental gender preferences in advanced societies: Lessons from Sweden and Finland
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Educational attainment and ultimate fertility among Swedish women born in 1955-59
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Fertility developments in Norway and Sweden since the early 1960s
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