Are Self-rated Health, Native Finnish Friends and Having Children under School Age Associated with Employment?

Kurdish and Somali migrants in Finland

Authors

• Auli Airila Varma
• Ari Väänänen Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
• Minna Toivanen Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
• Aki Koskinen Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
• Natalia Skogberg Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
• Anu Castaneda Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23979/fypr.95472

Keywords:

employment [http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p6357], health [http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p2762], migrants [http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p6165], social networks [http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p408]

Abstract

In Western countries, entry into the labour market is difficult for humanitarian migrants, especially women. The aim of our study was to examine the association of health, native Finnish friends and having under school-age children with employment among humanitarian migrants.

The data were drawn from the Finnish Migrant Health and Wellbeing Study. The sample comprised 479 migrants of Kurdish and Somali origin (men n=248; women n=231). We analysed the associations of self-rated health, having Finnish friends and under school age children with employment using multinomial regression modelling.

After adjustment for several well-established determinants of employment, having Finnish friends and good health were robustly associated with employment among women. In the age-adjusted model, having 3–6 years old children was related to lower employment among women, but after all adjustments, the association became nonsignificant. All these associations were nonsignificant among male migrants. To conclude, good health and bridging social relations with natives play a role in strengthening employment opportunities among female humanitarian migrants.