Social assistance dynamics in Norway revisited: A two-decade prospective study of trajectories of young social assistance recipients

This article revisits earlier research on social assistance (SA) dynamics by applying a holistic life-course approach, made possible by sequence analysis. We followed the life-course over 20 years of young recipients of SA in Norway. The data material was derived from administrative data collected and linked by Statistics Norway. The study population was first-time SA recipients aged 18-24 years in 1995. In addition to SA, spells of social security, schooling, work and earnings were examined. We found that SA plays a minor role over time, but that social security receipt constitutes an important trajectory for more than a quarter of the SA population. Education and work with medium earnings make up distinctly different and rather successful trajectories for about half of the SA population. Gender and early school-leaving matter for trajectory affiliation. Women's trajectories are to a greater extent than men's characterised by unstable employment and low-paid work.