Finnish Youth Survey Spring 1997

The main themes of the survey were employment and consumer habits. Other topics included education and qualifications, entrepreneurship and satisfaction with life. The respondents were young people living in Finland. The respondents were asked whether they were studying at that moment and whether they were satisfied with their education in terms of gaining employment. Those in employment were asked about their job contract and whether the job was commensurate with their qualifications. The unemployed or the laid-off were asked about the spells and duration of unemployment, obstacles to employment, and willingness to enter apprenticeship training. The respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with a number of statements relating to employment opportunities, unemployment benefits, employment situation, and means of increasing employment opportunities. Future plans were charted by asking whether the respondents planned to work or study abroad, set up a business or acquire vocational education within the next five years. Views were probed on obstacles preventing young people from becoming entrepreneurs/self-employed. The survey also investigated young people's consumption habits. A number of questions pertained to how they finance their consumption and what factors influenced their consumption decisions (e.g. friends, advertising, price, durability, good quality of the product). Next, the respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with statements relating to different aspects of occupational life and how they perceived themselves as citizens and consumers (for instance, were they quality conscious, did they buy impulsively, etc.) Further questions covered the respondents' satisfaction with their financial situation and their life in general. Finally, the respondents were asked what was the most important aspect of work to them (wage level, job security, or the work itself). Background variables included the respondent's age, gender, basic and vocational education, economic activity, parents' occupational education, type of neighbourhood, and municipality of residence.