Higher education dropouts and the labour market. An exploration of parental education effects on early career trajectories in Austria

Dropping out from higher education is thought to be problematic on an individual, institutional, and societal level. Research on dropouts’ transition into the labour market is scarce and often falls short on incorporating the employment situation prior to leaving education. This study explores the education-employment patterns of individuals before and after dropping out. It applies sequence analysis and cluster analysis to high-quality register data to identify typical labour market trajectories. The results indicate that dropping out is linked to diverging labour market pathways. It can be embedded in long-term employment, be followed by fast labour market entry, or can be a junction in a volatile education-employment biography. Existing research suggests that parental education is a determinant of labour market trajectories. Our findings indicate that dropouts from an academic background do not largely occupy any trajectories in specific. However, they are more likely to be self-employed and less prone to certain risk scenarios.