Persisting class inequality? Comparing class-specific unemployment in early working life in Britain and west Germany

In conditions of increasing economic uncertainty, a body of social stratification researchers claims that significant class inequality in life chances persists (Breen, 1997; Goldthorpe, 2000). Can we find evidence of this, and are developments similar across countries? Differences in education systems, welfare and labour market institutions may have implications for class risks and class theory. Britain and Germany differ significantly in these institutions. Selecting the risk of unemployment as an indicator of class inequality, we investigate how this risk varies by social class in different cohorts in the two countries. Using life course data, we find that in both countries class is a good predictor of the risk of unemployment, though there is less of a difference in class risks in Germany. We find evidence of persisting inequality in both Britain and Germany. We reflect on the interaction between social class and labour market institutions for labour market outcomes, and discuss the implications of our findings for the theory and measurement of class.