Young adults’ risk of long-term benefit receipt and parents’ socioeconomic background

This study investigates social differences in the risk of long-term benefit receipt of young adults in Germany. Although employment is a major route to end social benefit receipt, it may not result in financial independence for all social groups in their early working lives as this also depends on the status of their parents: Do young benefit recipients have unequal chances of making the transition from benefit receipt as soon as they take up employment? How stable is the impact of parents’ socioeconomic status on the transition once young adults complete their vocational education? This study conducts an empirical analysis of the careers of a cohort of 18-to-24-year-old Germans who received benefits in 2005 by combining survey data and register data for a six-year observation period. Event history analyses indicate that social differences persist when young adults claim social benefits. In particular, parents’ socioeconomic status is positively associated with their offspring’s likelihood of ending receipt of social benefits as soon as they are in full-time employment. Parents’ socioeconomic status has a relatively stable impact for young beneficiaries irrespective of whether they have completed vocational qualifications or not. The findings suggest that these social differences persist during early working life