Teenagers employment as a factor of societal security: an analysis of results of sociological research

The article is based upon the analysis of a sociological research conducted by the Department of Sociology of Petrozavodsk State University in the years 2010-2012. The aim of the research was the investigation of the position of teenagers on the contemporary labor market and the assessment of the state of their social and legal protection. The authors consider the level of social and legal protection to be the most important indicator of societal security of the region. During the first stage of the research (2010) 1124 Karelian teenagers aged from 14 to18 were polled. The second stage of the research included the expert survey of employers, who regularly hire underage employees (10 half-formalized interviews were conducted). The primary research focus when interviewing was the research of problems which employers face when using the work of underage employees and the mechanisms of their resolution. According to the results of the research, specific practical recommendations for regional and municipal authorities have been developed. The implementation of these recommendations helps to decrease the social risks for underage workers and their employers on the regional labor market and thus increase the level of societal security in the region.