Transition from college to work: factors determining time to first job

Abstract

Amidst a sluggish economy where large layoffs have become a major feature of most lati markets around the world, finding the remedy for unemployed graduates especially in a developing country like Malaysia has evolved into a challenging task The heterogeneity in length of time to first job has focus on various determining factors as explained by the job search theory. Using a retrospective data from 300 young college labor entrants, this paper attempts to identify significant variables in determining time- to- first job. Selective variables from the independent variable vectors which are family background, gender, activities were found to have significant correlation with time to first job. Length of time spend unemployed also affects the type of job secured by individuals suggesting a short run ethnicity, language proficiency, educational attainment, field of study and job search job mismatch situation.