How do marital formation and dissolution differ across employment statuses? Analysis of Japanese non‐regular employees

Over time, Japan has seen an increase in non‐regular employment and a shift away from marriage. To uncover any link between these issues, this paper uses Japanese Labour Force Survey microdata to examine annual transitions between marital statuses and how such transitions vary across labour market statuses, in particular between male regular and non‐regular employees. We find, for different age groups, that the odds ratio of marriage for male non‐regular employees is 30% to 40% lower than that for male regular employees even after controlling for education. We also find that the odds ratio of divorce for married couples is twice as large when the husband is a non‐regular employee than when the husband is a regular employee. Our analysis sheds light on the challenges faced by Japanese males with non‐regular jobs in enjoying stable marital relationships and it reveals the regional heterogeneity of such challenges.