Influence of Work–Welfare Cycling and Labour Market Segmentation on Employment Histories of Young Long-Term Unemployed

Abstract

The onset of the ‘Great Recession’ from 2008 was associated with a significant increase in long-term unemployment among young people. Work–welfare cycling has been put forward as a contributory factor. Drawing on a large-scale survey of long-term unemployed young people, this article argues that segmented labour market theory provides a strong explanatory framework for understanding the nature of long-term unemployment among young people, with the literature on work–welfare cycling contributing to an understanding of one of the processes by which precarious employment impacts on employability and labour supply. A second key finding is the heterogeneous nature of the young long-term unemployed, which in turn requires policy responses more customized to the needs of the different groups.