Why do recent graduates enter into flexible jobs?

The share of flexible jobs on the Dutch labour market is among the highest in Western countries, in particular for recent graduates. In this study we examine why recent graduates enter into temporary contracts and whether flexible jobs match their qualifications worse than permanent jobs do. Graduates that enter into flexible jobs face large wage penalties, a worse job match and less training participation than those entering into permanent jobs, even after correcting for ability differences. When the labour market situation for a particular field of education deteriorates, a larger share of recent graduates is forced into flexible jobs, which may threaten their position on the labour market in the long run. Flexible work among graduates is unrelated to their willingness to take risks. Only for university graduates are there any indications that flexible jobs may provide stepping stones to permanent jobs.