Млади родитељи на тржишту и ван тржишта рада у Србији
Young Parents in the Serbian Labour Market: Balancing the Professional and Private Life

Author(s): Dragan Stanojević
Subject(s): Family and social welfare, Human Resources in Economy, Socio-Economic Research
Published by: Институт друштвених наука
Keywords: parenthood; labour market; domestic work; young people; Serbia
Summary/Abstract: The position of young people in the Serbian labour market, including that of young parents, has been increasingly uncertain since the onset of the economic crisis. After a decade of political and economic isolation that witnessed very slow transformational changes, the economic crisis brought new uncertainties to young people's lives. This article addresses the balance between the professional and private responsibilities of young parents aged 18-35 years in Serbia, in the period from 2014 to 2016. Our main goal is to identify whether and how parenting affects young parents' position in the labour market, having in mind their social position. The analyses show that when a young man is expecting a child, he is more intensively engaged in the labour market – young fathers' employment rates are significantly higher compared to those of young men who are not fathers and, at the same time, there are significantly fewer unemployed and inactive men among fathers. Although their share in the labour market is larger, their position is less secure compared to that of young mothers. For women, the pattern is more complex. While a certain number of women are more intensively involved in the labour market – young mothers' employment rates are higher than those of young women who are not mothers, a significant number of young mothers temporarily or permanently withdraw from the labour market and become inactive. Although this general pattern is present across all social strata, the family–work balance depends on the social position of young people. The higher the educational level of young parents, the higher their employment rates and the lower their unemployment and inactivity rates are, and this formula applies to fathers and mothers alike. Higher education of parents reduces the gender gap in the labour market. The opportunities offered by the labour market, in terms of the possibility of achieving an equal position between men and women, are unequally distributed across educational qualifications, the professions practiced by young parents being no exception. Mothers and fathers with university degrees are more likely to get a (secure and well-paid) job, while those with primary education have the least chance of finding a (decent) job. Trends indicate a certain increase in employment rates in past three years, both for men and women; however, this increase is part of the trend of more and more insecure jobs and precarious work in Serbia. Risks that young people face postpone and impede their transition to parenthood. The position in the labour market is closely related to the gender division of labour in the private sphere. Women are more likely to stop working because of parental and family responsibilities than men. While they are inactive, they will seek for a job less often due to family reasons.

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