Trajectories of Labor Market Inequalities and Health Among Employees in Korea: Multichannel Sequence Analysis

Despite accumulated evidence on the issue of labor market inequalities on health, the literature to date has failed to consider the changing dynamics of work experiences over a full life course in understanding its association with health. This study takes a holistic approach to understanding labor market trajectories in terms of employment security among wage-earners using a multichannel sequence. Five clusters were found: Secured insider, moderate insiders, vulnerable outsider, precarious workers, and secured labor status but limited income. The findings suggest that labor market inequalities are negatively associated with health outcomes, particularly in the health of the disadvantaged group relative to labor market insiders. Vulnerable outsiders report lower odds of optimal health as well as precarious workers relative to secured insiders. However, the different patterns of association between long-term labor market inequalities and depression were emerged. Future study research could expand to explore the different mechanism of labor market inequalities to self-rated health and depression.