Loopbanen van flexwerkers: nieuwe inzichten over werk- en inkomenszekerheid op basis van multichannel sequentieanalyse

In this paper we use multichannel sequence analysis to classify careers of Dutch workers in flexible employment in terms of employment and income security. We subsequently investigate to what extent this career typology leads to different conclusions about the extent to which flexible employment functions as a stepping stone or as a trap than when methods are used that only focus on transitions at specific moments in the career and do not take into account income development. Based on transition rates, we could conclude that 50% of the workers who start in a flexible job has a stepping stone career as they make their first transition to permanent employment, while 43% becomes unemployed and has a trap career. The results from the sequence analysis are more nuanced: 27% of the careers has both high employment and income security and can be classified as a stepping stone, while 44% has low employment and income security and has a trap career. 13% of the careers combines high employment security with low income security, and 4% low employment security and high income security. The results indicate that transition rates give insufficient insights in the careers of workers in flexible employment.