Work Ability and Work Participation Statuses of the Working-Age Population in Finland: A Register-Based Clustering Study.

Purpose: Work ability is a complex concept without a single golden standard measure. This study explores the possibility to use register data to form distinct work ability clusters and examine the levels of work participation between these clusters, while considering the co-occurrence of factors contributing to work ability within the population.

Methods: We used register data from a 90% sample of the Finnish working-age population in 2021 (ages 20-64, n = 2 920 099) to operationalize work ability based on literature. Employing K-Prototypes clustering, we identified distinct clusters of work ability. In this cross-sectional study, we then examined work participation by assessing the number of months spent in employment, unemployment, and receiving disability benefits within each cluster.

Results: The analysis resulted in 11 distinct clusters. The clusters differed from each other in age, sex, educational attainment, occupation, household size and family type, and health. The average number of months spent in different work participation statuses in 2021 varied across these clusters with employment ranging from 7.3 to 11.6 months, unemployment from 0.3 to 2 months, and disability benefits from 0.2 to 2 months per year.

Conclusions: Operationalization of the multifaceted concept of work ability using register data resulted in the identification of different clusters within the Finnish working-age population. Differences in various work ability-related variables highlight the complexity of work ability. Notably, the variation in work participation statuses among these clusters underscores the nuanced ways in which these factors interact to influence employment, unemployment, and reliance on disability benefits.