PATTERNS OF INTEGRATION: A Longitudinal View of the Labour Market Attachment of Immigrants in Finland

The labour market integration of immigrants is often time-consuming and a socially selective process that depends on macroeconomic, institutional and individual characteristics. In this paper, we studied the labour market integration of immigrants as a longitudinal process through different patterns of labour market attachment. Using information about individuals' main activity statuses based on the Finnish Longitudinal Employer-Employee Data (FLEED) and using sequence analysis, we followed the labour market transitions of immigrants during the years 2000-2010. The theory on transitional labour markets provides an analytical tool for analysing the heterogeneity of the individuals' labour market attachment. The results contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the labour market integration of immigrants.