Worklife mobility typologies as background to current class position : a research note

Abstract

Retrospective job history data from a large probability sample of males in Northern Ireland is used to construct four typologies of intragenerational occupational mobility. The four typologies are based upon: (1) a Class (worklife) perspective; (2) an Internal and External Labour markets perspective; (3) Economic Sectors; (4) Career Increments. Each typology has a distinct conceptual background which leads to a unique and non-overlapping operationalisation. Present position does reflect past worklife history. Varying worklife mobility histories of different class strata are found by comparing the present social class position of respondents with their intragenerational mobility histories across the four typologies. These unique worklife mobility backgrounds support the utility of intragenerational analyses for class analysis.