Secondary Labor Market Research Articles

The Consolidation of the Secondary Financial Services Market

Stagnant income and persistent debt have induced low- and middle-income households to rely on alternative financial services (AFS): buy-here-pay-here auto loans, check-cashers, payday loans, auto title loans, rent-to-own furniture and appliances, and pawnshops. A secondary financial services market has evolved to serve the secondary labor market, replete with trade associations as well as state and federal regulators. Mainstream financial institutions have marketed innovations, such as reloadable debit cards, to appeal to low- and middle-income consumers. High fees and interest rates of AFS products have fueled a volatile debate about the future of the secondary financial services market, with options including prohibition, regulation, and inclusion. A tidal wave of debt has swept over the lower economic elevations of America, not only obliterating the prosperity of poor households that had struggled with declining incomes for decades, but more recently destabilizing a large swath of middle-income families that relied on credit to bolster family finances (Edsall, 2012). The Great Recession, a dramatic reversal of the fortunes of low- and middle-income families, caused working class families to resort to Alternative Financial Services (AFS) to maximize their increasingly tenuous resources; however, as the tsunami reached higher elevations, middleincome households turned to AFS, as well. When banks and credit unions failed to respond to the needs of increasingly desperate working families, struggling households resorted to a burgeoning network of buy-here-pay-here auto sales, payday and auto title lenders, check-cashers, rent-to-own vendors, and pawnshops.

Organizational linkages in Japan’s female labor market: Information exchanged in networks

The form of institutional linkages between schools and employers changed during the decade-long economic recession in Japan. This article explores why institutional linkages between women’s colleges and large Japanese firms in the secondary labor market have survived, despite a long-term restraining of labor demand. From a network theory perspective, employers value information about applicants’ residency status, as it is conducive to reducing personnel management costs; information can be reliably obtained via these institutional linkages. Employers expect schools to use such information to select nominees. By using the data from the school’s applicant pool, the results from logistic regression analysis showed that schools tend to nominate candidates who are living with their parents, and no candidates who lived without parents were hired. Additionally, a candidate’s academic performance and personality evaluation, which can also be obtained through the linkages, as well as more formal recruitment processes, did not have a significant impact on employee selection.

STRUCTURAL CHANNELS FOR UKRAINIAN LABOUR MIGRATION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

1. Introduction In the 2000s and the 2010s, migration to the CEE countries (Central and East European countries) gained a special significance. There exists an observable pattern of East-West migration, on the one hand from New Member States (NMS) of the EU to Western Europe, on the other hand from Newly Independent Countries (NIS) to NMS of the EU. Leon-Ledesma, Piracha (2001) characterized the migration from CEE as temporary and short-term. The Czech Republic is, due to its advantageous geographical location in the heart of Europe, a very important country for European migrants--either as a final destination or a transitive point. From all post-Communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic receives the largest part of foreign labour force, with Ukrainian workers as a most important group (Figure 1). In 2009 Ukrainians comprised 21% of all immigrants and in 2006 their share was even larger--over 30 thousands of immigrants from Ukraine constituted 46% of overall immigration (CZSO 2011). Generally immigrants from non-EU countries comprise 68% of all foreigners in the Czech Republic, from which 43% are originally from Ukraine. The process of transformation in Ukraine that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union is still on-going and the country faces high unemployment, corruption, slow economic development and high inflation. The economic development of the country is slowed down by political environment and situation of dependency on Russian energy sources and struggles for power. The discontent with the situation in the country reached the point where people started the socalled Orange revolution as a response to 2004 parliament election (see e.g. Chaban and Vernygora 2010). However, pro-Western policy of the new government was not successful and new elections brought pro-Russian forces back to power (Wilson 2005, Strielkowski and Glazar 2012). The collapse of the Soviet Union triggered migration movement from Ukraine to the West (Malynovska 2008, Duvell 2006). There was also change in the type of migration--people did not migrate due to the ethical and political reasons, but mainly due to the economic ones (see e.g. Mendes 2009, or Jelinkova et al. 2011). Ukraine became an essential supply of labour for member states of the EU since more than half of migrants enter EU's labour markets (Siar 2008, Malynovska 2008, or Mendes 2009). Ukrainian migration is typically circular (i.e. with intention to return back regularly or for good), 80% of emigrants long to come back to Ukraine eventually, they maintain relationships with families, stay in direct contact, quite often are able to come home and they also realize investments in Ukraine (Markov et al. 2009). [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Currently more than 10% of Ukrainian population (1/5 of working age population) work abroad, typically on temporary basis (Duvell 2006). According to Siar (2008) 15.7% of households have at least one or more members with experience of working abroad. Most often Ukrainians are engaged in secondary labour market and usually they do not constitute competitive counterparts to local workers (Markov et al. 2009). They are usually working in the building and construction sector, in housekeeping and agricultural industry (Vollmer et al. 2010). For the whole decade the GDP growth was negative and economy started to recover at the beginning of the new century. That did not automatically mean that the recovery completely helped the soundness of economy. The GDP of the country in 2006 resulted in 63% and in 2007 in 68% of the level in 1989. The world economic crisis caused further shock for the economy when in 2009 GDP shrank by 15% (Kowalski and Polowczyk 2012). The evolvement of GDP per capita in Ukraine and in the Czech Republic is depicted in Figure 2. The striking difference between values of GDP per capita is one of the evidence of better standards of living in the Czech Republic and thus these values can be understood as an important motivation for Ukrainian migrant workers at the time of their choice of destination country. …

A WARM EMBRACE OR THE COLD SHOULDER? WAGE AND EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES IN ETHNIC ENCLAVES

This paper examines how immigrant enclaves influence labor market outcomes. We examine the effect of variation in ethnic concentration across counties and county subdivisions on both immigrant earnings and employment using the non‐public use, 1‐in‐6 sample of the 2000 U.S. Census. We find that there is heterogeneity in enclave impacts by ethnic group and skill composition of the enclave. While some groups tend to suffer from lower wages and employment propensities when residing in areas with larger ethnic concentrations, others have higher wages and improved employment opportunities in enclaves. (JEL J61, J15, R23)

Factors associated with differences in perceived health among German long-term unemployed

BackgroundUnemployment is associated with reduced physical and psychological well-being. Perceived health is an important factor influencing health outcomes as well as successful returns to work. This study aims to determine the extent to which perceived health correlates with mental health, various health risk characteristics and socio-demographic characteristics in a setting-selected sample of long-term unemployed persons.MethodsUsing SF-12, 365 long-term unemployed persons were assessed for self-perceived health and various socio-demographic and health characteristics. Perceived health data of the sample was compared to the German SF-12 reference population. Bivariate analyses and multiple linear regression models were applied to identify those variables significantly associated with perceived health.ResultsThe study population reported poorer perceived health compared with the general population. Analyses showed that perceived mental health was significantly worse in women, among persons with heightened depression and anxiety scores, and in participants reporting reduced levels of physical activity. Perceived physical health was significantly lower among older persons, participants with a higher BMI, and participants with heightened depression and anxiety scores. Both mental and physical health were worse among the unemployed assigned to an employment center as compared to those engaged in the secondary labor market. In total, 36% of the variance in the SF-12 mental score and 20% of the variance in the SF-12 physical score were explained by the factors included in the final multiple linear regression models.ConclusionsPerceived health among a select group of long-term unemployed is reduced to a clinically relevant extent compared to the general population. The preliminary findings underline an association between mental health and perceived health. Negative self-perceptions of health were also associated with the labor market setting and some of the socio-demographic and health behavior variables. Further research is needed to determine risk factors leading to reduced perceived health in the unemployed. The strong association between mental health and perceived health suggests interventions targeting mental health are urgently needed to positively influence perceived health, a key determinant of individuals’ chances to successfully return to work.

Part‐time work and gender: Worker versus job explanations

Abstract.This article draws on Norwegian Labour Force Survey data to investigate the worker and job characteristics of different types of part‐time employment and their patterns of gendering. The most prevalent and female‐dominated type is voluntary long part‐time work, reflecting employer adjustment to women's working‐time preferences. Voluntary short part‐time work is significantly less gendered, typically representing marginal labour force affiliation, combined with education or gradual retirement, which employers use for flexibility in low‐skilled service and care industries. Involuntary part‐time employment is strongly associated with secondary labour market characteristics (temporary contracts, “non‐Western” citizenship) and affects women to a greater extent than men.

The Career Paths Less (or More) Traveled: A Sequence Analysis of IT Career Histories, Mobility Patterns, and Career Success

This paper examines the objective career histories, mobility patterns, and career success of 500 individuals drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), who had worked in the information technology workforce. Sequence analysis of career histories shows that careers of the IT workforce are more diverse than the traditional view of a dual IT career path (technical versus managerial). This study reveals a new career typology comprising three broad, distinct paths: IT careers; professional labor market (PLM) careers; and secondary labor market (SLM) careers. Of the 500 individuals in the IT workforce, 173 individuals pursued IT careers while the remaining 327 individuals left IT for other high-status non-IT professional jobs in PLM or lower-status, non-IT jobs in SLM careers. Findings from this study contribute to refining the concept of careers. By tracing the diverse trajectories of career mobility, we enrich our understanding of how individuals construct boundaryless careers that span not only organizational but also occupational boundaries. Career success did not differ in terms of average pay for individuals in IT and PLM careers. By contrast, individuals in SLM careers attained the lowest pay. We conclude this study with implications for future research and for the management of IT professionals' careers.

Unemployment trap or high job turnover? Ethnic penalties and labour market transitions in Italy

This article aims at analysing the trajectories of immigrants in the Italian labour market, focusing on yearly transitions from unemployment to employment and vice versa. Regression models show that, controlling for age, educational attainment and region, immigrant workers lose their jobs more often than natives but, once being unemployed they have more probabilities of finding a job than natives. As the probabilities of both transitions can be affected by characteristics of the initial status as well, the two transitions have been analysed separately. For the risk of losing a job, the segregation of immigrants in the secondary labour market seems to be the main reason of their penalization, but also the main reason of their advantage in job seeking, since their unemployment spells are shorter than those of natives, although at the cost of accepting worse working conditions. Analyses are based on the yearly transition matrices of Italian Labour Force Surveys, from 2005 to 2008.

Blocked mobility or unemployment risk? Labour market transitions of natives and immigrants in Switzerland

Cross-sectional literature has shown that in Switzerland as elsewhere immigrants are more penalized than the native-born population both considering the unemployment risk and their position in the employment structure. Using a longitudinal framework, the present article focuses on a comparison between male immigrants and natives in the Swiss labour market, analysing two risks: the risk of unemployment and the risk of entrapment in unskilled occupations. In the first part of the article, using a dynamic random effect models, we show that immigrants present less state dependence than natives considering both unemployment and the risk of entrapment in unskilled positions. In the second part, using Heckman selection models, we show that less state dependence of immigrants corresponds to a higher mobility towards the skilled working class that is limited to the secondary labour market. We explain these differences with the interplay of Swiss labour market characteristics, in particular, the need for high flexibility and the positive selection of immigrants whose access to the Swiss labour market is generally realized through the bottom of employment structure.

Five Faculty Labor Market Dilemmas Facing Community Colleges in the New Economy

Community colleges employ more than one-third of the nation's higher education faculty. Nevertheless, the labor market through which faculty are recruited, selected, hired, evaluated and retained or replaced is one of the least understood aspects of these institutions. Functional management and effective policy both require a clear understanding of the workplace dynamics and employment dilemmas associated with this labor market. This article begins by recognizing that the 21st century economy is being transformed by large scale social, political, and technological developments—developments often referred to as the emergence of a new economy. This new economy is transforming the nature of work and the character of worker-employer relations. Four core ideas in the new economy literature are developed to show how they are creating fundamental labor market dilemmas for community colleges. The concepts are (a) information age technology, (b) globalization, (c) neo-institutional theories of organization, and (d) work spatialization. Analysis of these concepts shows how the transformation of work and of workplace relationships produced by the new economy is creating five troublesome dilemmas for community college management, policy, and research. These dilemmas are examined to build theory and frame policy issues for research and action. The dilemmas involve distinguishing work spatialization from secondary labor market status, separating institutional from bureaucratic forms of control, identifying symbolic and substantive faculty work roles, clarifying managerial control structures and roles, and identifying the career pipelines that bring individuals into this occupation. Responding to these dilemmas shapes college management, frames higher education policy issues, and defines a research agenda for anyone interested in understanding and improving community college performance.

When informal is normal… On the role of credentials and contacts for the job entry in Serbia

The paper focuses on the roles of human capital and social resources in structuring young people's entries into either the formal or the informal labour market in the Serbian transformation society. Results show that informal labour market in Serbia follows the structure of the secondary labour market and signals vulnerability on part of youths employed there. Education dropouts are largely channelled to the informal sector, whereas favourably educated Serbian graduates are less attracted to it. Job search via social networks facilitates entry to unregistered employment, but slows down entry to registered employment for job seekers. Whereas stratification of labour market entry by education largely follows patterns of primary and secondary labour market attainment in any industrialized society, the effects of contacts might exhibit traces of inefficiencies peculiar to the transformation countries. Analyses are conducted on the basis of the Serbian school-leaver survey (2006) applying event history modelling and binomial regression analysis.

Modelling job satisfaction in low-level jobs: Differences between full-time and part-time employees in the Greek retail sector

Summary With the aim of contributing to the discussion on the level of job satisfaction of full-time compared to part-time employees, we examine the job satisfaction of Greek retail workers employed in the secondary labour market (non-managerial, non-professional occupations). Apart from assessing the level of job satisfaction, this research explores why full-time and part-time retail employees might differ on attitudes by tracing the different predictors of job satisfaction in such an idiosyncratic and demanding work environment. After addressing the concept and the quality of part-time work in the context of the retail sector, we develop the research hypotheses. Empirical evidence was obtained from 488 Greek retail employees using a structured questionnaire. The findings in this paper indicate significant differences on job satisfaction of employees by work status. Additional regression analysis revealed that employees’ preferences for working hours and reward-related expectations provide significant evidence on the variation in general job satisfaction. In the context of the demanding retail sector, the findings of this survey provide retail managers significant guidelines on how to enhance the job satisfaction of their employees. Given the scarcity of empirical research on job satisfaction in Greece, the results of this paper offer insights into the determinants of job satisfaction to the wider academic community and to management professionals.

Personality, Constituent Attachment, and Work Behavior: An Empirical Test of the Relational Perspective on Voluntary Turnover and Performance in Low-Wage/Low-Skill Jobs

Low-wage/low-skill jobs often display excessively high turnover rates. The nature of the secondary labor market, within which these jobs are positioned, suggests that high turnover is a product of high ease of movement. With ample opportunity to leave, this research asks: What can lead workers in these jobs to stay? The theory put forth in this study posits that personality differences affect the development of social relationships, manifested as constituent attachment, and these relationships emerge as highly salient in determining both the decision to stay and the decision to perform well in one’s job. Results from a sample of 405 service industry employees in a low-wage/low-skill job indicate that (a) constituent attachment is the only significant predictor of turnover, (b) constituent attachment is positively related to performance, (c) extraversion and agreeableness significant predict constituent attachment, and (d) these two dispositions display an indirect effect on turnover and performance through their positive effect on constituent attachment.

Quien Es El Mas Macho?: A Comparison of Day Laborers and Chicano Men

This study examined whether the ideology of machismo is essentially a class-based structural phenomenon found primarily among poor and uneducated, working-class immigrant Latino men or an endemic cultural trait and value. We compared the responses on the Mirandé Sex Role Inventory (MSRI), a measure of traditional gender roles, of a sample of Day Laborer (DLG), immigrant men (N = 37) who work in the secondary labor market in menial, low-wage jobs with those of more educated, largely nonimmigrant, men (N = 105)1 who are part of the primary labor market group (PLG) and have higher-wage stable jobs. DLG consistently scored higher on the Traditionalism items on the MSRI than the PLG sample and endorsed traditional beliefs that restrict women’s behavior and/or activities and reinforce the double sexual standard but results of separate factor analyses conducted with two or three components revealed considerable overlap and consistency in the two samples on the various components of the MSRI, particularly the Traditionalism Factor. The diversity of responses between the two samples suggests that there is not one but a wide range and variety of Latino masculinities.

The Link Between Job Security And Wages: A Comparison Between Germany And The UK

We examine the wage effects of perceived and objective job security in Germany and the UK, and find that job security influences the wage development in both countries. We find that British workers react slightly more strongly to perceived security signals, and that the objective job security effect is also stronger in the UK. We find that there is a secondary labor market in Germany characterized by temporary contracts and low pay, but only limited evidence of this division in the UK. Changes in perceived job security are a factor in determining the change in wages.

Evidence on Employer Attitudes and EQUAL Opportunities for the Disadvantaged in a Flexible and Open Economy

A neglected area of analysis in improving the progression of those facing barriers to the labour market concerns the role of employers. Unless their attitudes and behaviour are suitable, well informed, and sympathetic to the aspirations of disadvantaged groups in the labour market, then strategies and policies to raise employability and inclusion will be less than effective. In this paper we report on a project to identify a better understanding of employer considerations in recruiting, retaining, and progressing those who face barriers. We assess employer attitudes and behaviour to EQUAL Access client groups by researching examples of companies who have been active users of such labour, those who have not, and the labour market intermediaries and institutions. In this context we discuss the evolving issues for these groups in the secondary labour market with the migration of significant numbers of skilled workers from Central and Eastern Europe.

Labour Market Activation Policies for the Long-Term Ill – A Sick Idea?

This paper addresses the failure of activation programmes to achieve a rapid return to work when they are directed towards the long-term ill. The empirical basis for the paper is an analysis of the outcomes for 691 individuals in Sweden chosen for a reactivation policy programme to shorten their sick leave and increase their chances of returning to work. The outcome at the end of their long-term illness when compared to those not selected for an activation programme shows that the programmes failed both to reduce the length of sick leave or to improve the chance of a return to work. The paper discusses who is chosen for such a programme and the process involved. It also discusses why these programmes are continued although they do not succeed. Two possible reasons are suggested. In an atmosphere of mistrust promoted by the government against those claiming social benefits, one reason is that the programmes help bureaucratic decision-making to legitimise moving large numbers of individuals off the sick rolls and into early disability pensions. This is accomplished by employing activation programmes as ‘sorting mechanisms’. The other reason is that the state provides a degree of flexibility for the employer by producing and funding a secondary labour market for individuals with reduced capacity for work while allowing the employer a chance to escape the constraints of an employment contract. The paper concludes by arguing that re-activation programmes should be viewed as part of a larger transformation of the labour market and as a possible governmental policy mistake in the reformation of the social rights of the dis-able bodied.

Industrial Relations and Labour Market Segmentation in Dutch Call Centres

This article uses qualitative and quantitative evidence from call centres to show how the Dutch industrial relations system balances employer needs for workforce flexibility with the interests of employees. The normalization of temporary agency work in the Netherlands helps employers build workforce flexibility, reducing pressures on firms to subcontract work and to escape the existing regulatory system. In addition, the inclusiveness of the Dutch collective bargaining system, with the majority of call centre workers covered by a collective agreement, reduces differences in working conditions. Nonetheless, variations in negotiated agreements covering in-house workers, subcontractors and temporary agency workers lead to tiers of segmentation among these secondary labour market jobs.

Addressing the Legitimacy Gap in the Israeli Corporatist Revival

AbstractSince the mid‐1980s, Israel's labour law and industrial relations have transitioned from a Continental corporatist system to an Anglo‐American pluralist system. The process has been characterized by greater fragmentation of the labour market and the system of interests' representation. However, in recent years, there have been several episodes of nationwide collective agreements and social pacts. These agreements resonate with a second generation of social corporatist bargaining that has been identified in some European countries. In this article, I question the legitimacy of the new agreements. The legitimacy gap evolves from the use of corporatist instruments against the backdrop of a pluralist system. I discuss the attempts to increase the legitimacy of the corporatist instruments, pointing to their limited success. Future attempts must consider solutions that track the hybrid nature of the industrial relations system and devise institutions that bring together the traditional corporatist social partners and the new pluralist agents. Of particular importance is the need to consider the role of the new associations in civil society that voice the interests of the growing segment of disadvantaged workers in the secondary labour market.

Between Home and Work: Assessing the Distributive Effects of Employment Law in markets of Care

This Article offers a new analytical framework for understanding the distributive role of legal regulation in the interaction of home and work. Using this framework, the Article maps the exceptionalism of the family in U.S. federal employment law. It suggests that employment law treats familial care responsibilities as exceptional in two different ways: first, through family leave benefits that affect the primary labor market, labeled here exceptionalism; and, second, through the exclusion of inhome care workers from protective employment legislation in the secondary labor market, labeled here exceptionalism. This double exceptionalism of the family in employment law serves as a basis for an assessment of the distributive outcomes of employment law across class and gender lines. The Article shows that the combined study of affirmative and negative exceptionalism—of how employment law affects the availability of labor, as well as the working conditions, of both care workers and their employers—is crucial to a holistic understanding of the formative and distributive effects of employment law on markets of care. A central implication is that employment law should be understood as an accessible, if obdurate, legal tool which holds the potential for achieving distributional shifts from current social and political divisions of power among members of households and classes alike.