10th Biennial ACSPRI Social Science Methodology Conference in conjunction with the Australian Social Network Analysis Conference (ASNAC)

The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a critical developmental period during which employment experiences can have lasting implications for health and wellbeing. While prior research has linked unemployment and poor-quality work to adverse mental health outcomes, the role of precarious employment during early adulthood remains comparatively understudied, particularly from a longitudinal perspective. This study examines trajectories of precarious employment between ages 18 and 24 years and their associations with short- and long-term mental health. Data were drawn from the Australian Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. Informed by a lived experience youth advisory group, precarious employment was defined by subjective dimensions of job security and job control. Group-based trajectory modelling was applied in the analytic sample (n=498; person-year observations=5,856) to identify patterns of precarious employment between 18-24 years. Adjusted linear and logistic regressions were used to examine associations between trajectories, demographic characteristics and mental health, measured using the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5), at ages 25 years and 35 years. Two distinct trajectories emerged: persistent high precarity and low/decreasing precarity. Membership in the persistently high precarity trajectory was associated with poorer mental health at age 25, particularly among females. Sex differences emerged in longer-term outcomes assessed at age 35: persistently high job insecurity was associated with poorer mental health among males, whereas persistently low job control was associated with poorer mental health among females. These findings suggest that precarious employment in early adulthood, particularly when chronic in nature, may have enduring sex-specific consequences for mental health. The results highlight the importance of policies and workplace practices that promote secure and meaningful employment for young people, including strategies to improve job security, increase employee autonomy, and strengthen protections for workers in insecure forms of employment. Reducing employment precarity may therefore protect mental health across the life course.