On the fringe of the labour market
Movements in and out of the ordinary labour market

The Danish transfer income system includes a number of benefits targeted at people, who are more or less permanently outside the ordinary labour market. Therefore there is a need for a holistic perspective when assessing whether more people are outside the labour market than previously. The analysis focuses on the flows into and out of the ordinary labour market, and how they have developed over time. Moreover, many people shift between various ‘income-replacing’ benefits – these movements depending on the composition of the population and the prevailing economic conditions as well as rules and behaviour in the awarding of benefits. Analysis of these movements shows clear correlations between the transitions between different types of benefits, with the flows between benefits changing over time. Some of the changes, which cannot be explained by the composition of the population, coincide with changes in benefit rules and can thus be regarded as a result of these.