Beroepsmobiliteit in de vroege arbeidsloopbaan van Turkse en Marokkaanse allochtonen

Abstract

Previous research showed that second-generation migrants are less successful than natives when entering the labour market. This article analyses the early career occupational mobility of young people from a Turkish or Moroccan descent in Flanders. We compare the progress in socio-economic status (SES) that youngsters of native and non-native descent make from their first to later jobs at the start of their career. Both immigrants and native majority young adults experience upward occupational mobility during this crucial phase of their occupational careers. The gap between native and ethnic minority youth, however, does not narrow over the course of the years, with one exception because youth with non-traditional migrant background who migrated at a young age are more upwardly mobile during the first years of their career than the natives. The future career is largely determined by the characteristics of the start of the occupational career, and educational attainment even before. A first job with a relative low occupational status does however offer better opportunities for Turkish and Moroccan second-generation migrants than for native majority youth to do some catching up later on. In combination with a long-term negative impact of initial unemployment, these ethnic minority youth perhaps are best off with starting to work as soon as possible after school leaving.