Uncertain steps into adulthood: Does economic precariousness hinder entry into the first co-residential partnership in the UK?

This study uses prospective data spanning 27 years (1991–2018) to explore the relationship between economic precariousness and transitions to first co-residential partnership among Britons aged 18–34 across three dimensions: age, historical time, and sex. Economic precariousness is measured using eight objective and subjective indicators, including income, employment, housing, and financial perceptions. Our results show that economic precariousness has a strong negative relationship with entering the first co-residential partnership among those aged 20–30, but the pattern is less clear among the youngest and oldest. Objective measures are easier to interpret than subjective measures. Historical analyses suggest that not being employed decreases the probability of union formation more in recessionary periods than in non-recessionary ones. Among working women, low labour income started to be a predictor of union formation in the most recent periods. Labour income is the only indicator presenting trends in line with our hypotheses across all dimensions.

United Kingdom, cohabitation, economic precariousness, marriage, partnership formation, precarity, transition into adulthood, unemployment

10.1080/00324728.2022.2102672

0032-4728

Palumbo, Lydia, Veronica

59cb2a61-c70e-48d4-8111-18ad07e3bec8

Berrington, Ann

bd0fc093-310d-4236-8126-ca0c7eb9ddde

Eibich, Peter

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Vitali, Agnese

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1 September 2022

Palumbo, Lydia, Veronica

59cb2a61-c70e-48d4-8111-18ad07e3bec8

Berrington, Ann

bd0fc093-310d-4236-8126-ca0c7eb9ddde

Eibich, Peter

8a561eee-e166-46f9-b60f-97c35f61167c

Vitali, Agnese

04a5a4e4-13ac-485a-9896-daf76b5cf03f

Palumbo, Lydia, Veronica, Berrington, Ann, Eibich, Peter and Vitali, Agnese (2022) Uncertain steps into adulthood: Does economic precariousness hinder entry into the first co-residential partnership in the UK? Population Studies. (doi:10.1080/00324728.2022.2102672).

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Accepted/In Press date: 31 January 2022

Published date: 1 September 2022

Additional Information: Funding Information: This paper uses data from the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society, i.e. UKHLS (license granted for project 107444). Understanding Society is an initiative funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and various UK government departments, with scientific leadership by the Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, and survey delivery by NatCen Social Research and Kantar Public. The research data are distributed by the UK Data Service. https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/ Funding Information: Funding: This research has been funded by the Max Planck Society and the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Southampton. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords: United Kingdom, cohabitation, economic precariousness, marriage, partnership formation, precarity, transition into adulthood, unemployment