IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ine/journl/v60y2025i69p23-41.html

Patterns of transition from the educational system to the labor market – analysis in a European context

Author

Listed:
  • Cristina Rodica Boboc

    (Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania; Institute of National Economy, Bucharest, Romania)

  • Simona Ioana Ghita

    (Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania; Institute of National Economy, Bucharest, Romania)

  • Oana Iulia Dogaru

    (Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania)

Abstract

This paper analyses the process of transition of young people from the education system to the labour market and the influence of tertiary education on this transition. The research identifies behavioural patterns of European countries from the perspective of the transition process, a process with a multifactorial character, influenced by the interdependence between education, labour market requirements, government policies and individual characteristics of young people. The variables used in the analysis cover two aspects: the employment status of young individuals in the labour market and the employment situation of those with tertiary education. The information was obtained from the Eurostat database, reflecting the latest available year (either 2021 or 2022) and encompassing all Member States of the European Union. By employing Cluster Analysis and Principal Components Analysis, distinctive behavioural patterns among European countries in the transition of young tertiary education graduates to the labour market were discerned, considering variables such as: employment of young people, employment of tertiary-educated, unemployment rate, graduates and employment in Business Administration, Health and IT, NEETs rate and early leavers from education. These findings offer valuable insights for decision-makers aiming to enhance education and training systems, tailor study programs to meet labour market needs, and formulate support measures for young individuals navigating the transition process. The uniqueness of this research lies in its innovative multi-criteria approach to examining the transition process, achieved through the careful selection of indicators.

Suggested Citation

  • Cristina Rodica Boboc & Simona Ioana Ghita & Oana Iulia Dogaru, 2025. "Patterns of transition from the educational system to the labor market – analysis in a European context," Romanian Journal of Economics, Institute of National Economy, vol. 60(1(69)), pages 23-41, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ine:journl:v:60:y:2025:i:69:p:23-41
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.revecon.ro/articles/2025-1/2025-1-2.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pastore, Francesco & Quintano, Claudio & Rocca, Antonella, 2021. "Some young people have all the luck! The duration dependence of the school-to-work transition in Europe," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    2. Ruggero Cefalo & Rosario Scandurra & Yuri Kazepov, 2020. "Youth Labor Market Integration in European Regions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Zhen Yue & Kai Zhao, 2020. "Understanding the Effectiveness of Higher Education System: Evidences from Market Outcomes of Early University Graduates in Seven European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-32, September.
    4. Ruggero Cefalo & Rosario Scandurra & Yuri Kazepov, 2020. "Youth Labor Market Integration in European Regions," Post-Print hal-03501028, HAL.
    5. Baert, Stijn & Cockx, Bart & Verhaest, Dieter, 2013. "Overeducation at the start of the career: Stepping stone or trap?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 123-140.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ferdi Kesikoğlu & Ali İhsan Balcı & Ersin Eraslan, 2025. "Determination of the Convergence of Turkey and European Union Countries in Terms of Youth Labor Indicators by Cluster Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-25, August.
    2. Mariana Balan & Carmen Uzlau, 2025. "Structural Changes of the NEET Youth Group," Economics and Applied Informatics, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 2, pages 235-242.
    3. Gatta, Arianna, 2026. "Do employers discriminate against Active Labour Market Policies participants? A field experiment on the Youth Guarantee internship in Italy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    4. Marta Cordini & Tatjana Boczy & Ruggero Cefalo, 2021. "Place-Sensitive Social Investment and Territorial Cohesion: Implications for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-16, June.
    5. Carlos Pesquera Alonso & Práxedes Muñoz Sánchez & Almudena Iniesta Martínez, 2021. "Youth Guarantee: Looking for Explanations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-13, May.
    6. Esposito, Piero & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2022. "Educational mismatch and labour market transitions in Italy: Is there an unemployment trap?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 138-155.
    7. Tatjana Boczy & Ruggero Cefalo & Andrea Parma & Rikke Skovgaard Nielsen, 2020. "Positioning the Urban in the Global Knowledge Economy: Increasing Competitiveness or Inequality," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 194-207.
    8. Claudia Petrescu & Bogdan Voicu & Christin Heinz-Fischer & Jale Tosun, 2024. "Conceiving of and politically responding to NEETs in Europe: a scoping review," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.
    9. Guo, Wanran & Zhong, Daojun, 2025. "Population aging and regional innovation levels: Based on the mediating effect of research and development inputs," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    10. Inmaculada Garc�a-Mainar & V�ctor M. Montuenga-G�mez, 2017. "Subjective educational mismatch and signalling in Spain," Documentos de Trabajo dt2017-03, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de Zaragoza.
    11. Florian Fouquet, 2024. "Inadéquations emploi-diplôme en début de carrière : une situation persistante trois ans après l’entrée sur le marché du travail," Post-Print hal-04799735, HAL.
    12. Eleonora Trappolini & Kim Wooseong & Giammarco Alderotti, 2025. "Overqualified, Still Satisfied? Revisiting Job Satisfaction Among Overqualified Migrants," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2025_07, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    13. Joaquin Turmo-Garuz & M.-Teresa Bartual-Figueras & Francisco-Javier Sierra-Martinez, 2019. "Factors Associated with Overeducation Among Recent Graduates During Labour Market Integration: The Case of Catalonia (Spain)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 144(3), pages 1273-1301, August.
    14. Baert, Stijn & Picchio, Matteo, 2021. "A signal of (Train)ability? Grade repetition and hiring chances," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 867-878.
    15. Theresa Geißler, 2025. "Who bears the brunt: Tuition fees and educational mismatch," IAAEU Discussion Papers 202504, Institute of Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU).
    16. Cockx, Bart & Ghirelli, Corinna, 2016. "Scars of recessions in a rigid labor market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 162-176.
    17. Green, Francis & Henseke, Golo, 2021. "Europe's evolving graduate labour markets: supply, demand, underemployment and pay," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 55, pages 1-002.
    18. Lindsey Macmillan & Richard Murphy & Gill Wyness, 2024. "Occupational hazard: Inequalities in labour market mismatch," CEPEO Working Paper Series 24-06, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, revised Oct 2024.
    19. Garibaldi, Pietro & Gomes, Pedro Maia & Sopraseuth, Thepthida, 2020. "Output Costs of Education and Skill Mismatch," IZA Discussion Papers 12974, IZA Network @ LISER.
    20. Giuseppe Croce & Emanuela Ghignoni, 2024. "The Multifaceted Impact of Erasmus Programme on the School-to-Work Transition: A Matching Sensitivity Analysis," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 65(4), pages 732-754, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • C38 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Classification Methdos; Cluster Analysis; Principal Components; Factor Analysis
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ine:journl:v:60:y:2025:i:69:p:23-41. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Valentina Vasile (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inacaro.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.