Employment Characteristics of Women during Childbearing Period and Subsequent Workplans

Fruzsina Leitheiser , Hungarian Demographic Research Institute
Zsuzsanna Veroszta , Hungarian Demographic Research Institute

In Hungary, an extensive system of maternity benefits allows mothers to stay at home with their child for up to three years after giving birth. Therefore, the labor market activity of mothers before and after pregnancy can vary considerably in the light of the timing of labor market (re)participation. The findings of our analysis are based on the first two waves of “Cohort ’18 – Growing Up in Hungary”. To examine the timing of labor market participation around childbirth, mothers were classified into four categories: 1. those who suspended work for only a relatively short time in both the prenatal and postnatal period – i.e., were actively working during the third trimester of pregnancy and timed the maternity leave until the child was up to one year old (employment-oriented – 9.1%), 2. those who suspended work for only a relatively short time in the prenatal period, but the maternity leave was timed longer, after the child was one years old (postponer – 45.4%), 3. those who went on sick leave early during pregnancy but they (planned) re-employment is timed relatively shortly after the birth-giving (rapidly reintegrating – 1.8%), 4. those who suspended work for a relatively long time in both the prenatal and postnatal period (time-extender – 43.7%). After exploring the determinants of timing, preliminary results underline the previously formulated thesis that the employment decisions of Hungarian women with small children are largely influenced by, family-centered values, despite the fact that the conditions for early reintegration after childbirth have been incorporated into the maternity care system.

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 Presented in Session P1. Postercafe