Disaggregating the relationship between precarious employment and delayed marriage in Japan: Incorporating non-cohabiting partnerships

Precarious employment is argued to have led to delayed marriage and increased cohabitation in place of marriage. However, delayed marriage entry has also occurred in countries without an accompanying increase in cohabitation, suggesting that precarious employment may hinder the preceding stages of union formation. This study examines the influence of nonstandard employment and unemployment on later marriage entry for men and women in Japan by analyzing two distinct processes: entry into non-cohabiting partnerships and entry into marriage from non-cohabiting partnerships. The results show that nonstandard employment and unemployment are negatively associated with non-cohabiting partnership entry, in addition to marriage entry from non-cohabiting partnerships. While the negative association between unemployment and marriage entry is stronger for men than for women, there are no significant gender differences in the association between employment and non-cohabiting partnerships entry. The results suggest that the influence of precarious employment appears at earlier stages of union formation.