Getting a foot in the door: local labour markets and the school-to-work transition

Despite persistent sub-national variation in youth unemployment rates, the relationship between local labour market conditions and youth labour market outcomes is not well understood. This article explores the consequences of variation in the level and type of demand for labour for the amount of time it takes young people in the United Kingdom to find employment, following departure from full-time education. Survival analysis of British Household Panel Study (BHPS) data covering the period 1998–2008 shows that variation in the level (but not the type) of demand for labour is associated with considerable heterogeneity in job search time among less qualified young people, but not their better qualified peers. On average, it takes young people with lower secondary qualifications 1 month longer to find employment of any sort and 7 months longer to find secure, full-time employment if they are located in a place of low rather than high labour demand. These findings, which highlight the contextual nature of the risk associated with low educational attainment, point to the need for greater policy focus on bridging spatial mismatch between the location of low qualified young people and the location of secure employment opportunities.