Experiences and trajectories of young people in a rural region of Québec

This paper will analyse the experiences and trajectories of young people (16-30 years old) in a rural region of Québec. We will focus in particular on the socio professional integration in the (local) labour market. Doing this, we will pay attention at three different dimensions: a) family b) gender c) rural region.

This last territorial dimension is particularly important. It structures the labour market and working opportunities. Unemployment rate for young people is often higher in rural communities compared to urban contexts. In addition, although it is generally declining since 1997, rural youth remains more affected than their peers in urban contexts.

It is important to remind how this regional and territorial factor (space) might also act on the family and gender dimension, structuring specific patterns for family and gender.

We will observe how these dimensions may structure different trajectories and experiences for young people. In the first part, through statistical data, we will analyse the different household profiles connected to the poverty risk, considering in particular income poverty. In the second part, the aim is to examine the conditions through which the situation of young people could be endangered in terms of poverty and exclusion. In particular concerning the exclusion from the labour market, but also considering the position occupied in it. This second part of the study is conducted through a qualitative approach and in particular: in-depth interviews with about fifty young men and women.