# Labour market patterns among women and men following the uptake of their first parental leave benefit in Sweden

## TL;DR

This study examines long-term labor market patterns after taking parental leave in Sweden, finding differences between women and men and identifying factors associated with these patterns.

## Contribution

The study uses sequence analysis to identify distinct labor market clusters following parental leave and links them to socio-demographic and health factors.

## Key findings

- Women showed six labor market clusters, with 'Ongoing employment/studies' and 'Quick return' being the most common.
- Men predominantly remained in 'Ongoing employment/studies' after parental leave.
- Marginalized labor market patterns were linked to socioeconomic disadvantage and prior health issues.

## Abstract

This study identified long-term labour market patterns after taking the first parental leave benefit among women and men in Sweden and the socio-demographic, economic, and health-related characteristics among the identified patterns. We conducted a prospective cohort study, based on nationwide register microdata, including all women (N = 43,959) and men (N = 43,514) who had their first parental leave benefit uptake in 2010. Sequence analysis was used to explore their labour market patterns over 9 years after parental leave. We identified six labour market clusters for women: ‘Quick return to employment/studies’ (32%), ‘Ongoing employment/studies’ (24%), ‘Slow return to employment/studies’ (21%), ‘Weak labour market attachment’ (11%), ‘Increasing sickness absence/disability pension’ (9%) and ‘Death/emigration/retirement’ (2%). Among men, there were five clusters: ‘Ongoing employment/studies’ (74%), ‘Weak labour market attachment’ (13%), ‘Parental leave’ (7%), ‘Increasing sickness absence/disability pension’ (4%), and ‘Death/emigration/retirement’ (2%). Although most were economically active at the end of follow-up, among both women and men, marginalized labour market patterns were characterized by socioeconomic disadvantage and prior morbidity.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-026-35960-1.