Macroeconomic Conditions at Entry and Injury Risk at the Workplace

Using a unique dataset from Italy, we show that the local unemployment rate at entry has a persistent positive effect on severe and non-severe workplace injuries of young workers. Entrants during recessions, although receiving marginally higher entry wages, also experience slower wage growth. The observed pattern in the differences between severe and non-severe injuries indicates that entrants during recession may underreport non-severe workplace injuries. Our findings suggest that workers entering during recession are persistently locked into low quality jobs and that the mix of hazardous tasks endogenously adjusts to the business cycle.