Quality of youth employment in Russia: analysis of job satisfaction assessments

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to reveal regularities and specific features of the quality of employment among young Russian workers. The author analyses the patterns of individual-specific job satisfaction assessments. The empirical basis of the study is the data of the 22d wave of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey — Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE) which corresponds to the period of relative economic stability (late 2013-early 2014).To reveal the youth employment specifics the average job satisfaction scores in different age groups were calculated; a comparative study of their distributions based on a number of criteria was carried out. Multiple correlation analysis was used to define factors of job satisfaction. The novelty of the paper lies in the object of analysis, namely the youth employment quality given the lack of homogeneity in job satisfaction assessments. The U-shaped relationship was found between job satisfaction and age.Among youth groups, a group of 15—19 year olds differs both by the highest job satisfaction levels and a bigger share of those who are not satisfied with the wages and opportunities for professional growth. The study reveals that this is the only group where the share of persons who are satisfied with the job increases in times of crisis. New determinants of job satisfaction describing the regional labor market (relative unemployment rates and wage inequality) were introduced.The findings can be used for further research of the employment quality and show that the Russian youth employment quality should be put on the agenda. The author suggests that the assessments of job satisfaction levels should be included in the official system of employment quality indicators.