Constellations of Atypical Employment in Couples and Labour Income: Where is Disadvantage Located?

Abstract

This article investigates the implications of atypical employment in couples for labour income. It develops differentiated hypotheses on consequences of atypical employment for couple income by integrating theories on labour market segmentation and partner effects on labour market outcomes. Longitudinal data from Germany (1995–2018) is used to run fixed-effects models. Couples with one partner in temporary employment do not experience income disadvantages relative to dual-permanent couples, but some disadvantage is observed for dual-temporary couples. When one or both partners work part-time, absolute joint labour income is significantly lower, but net of working hours no significant differences remain in most cases. The exception is dual part-time couples with at least one partner in marginal part-time work, who face large absolute and full-time equivalized income disadvantages. Analyses also indicate that the male partner being atypically employed affects labour income more negatively than the female partner being atypically employed.