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Track Sector Trajectories

Source: R/trajectory_analysis.R
track_sector_trajectories.Rd

Tracks economic sector transitions for individuals who experienced a specific contract type, following their sector changes for 4 quarters (91 days each) after the end date of their chronologically first occurrence of that contract type.

Usage

track_sector_trajectories(
  data,
  contract_type_var = "COD_TIPOLOGIA_CONTRATTUALE",
  contract_type_value,
  sector_col,
  n_quarters = 4,
  person_id = "cf",
  start_date_col = "inizio",
  end_date_col = "fine",
  arco_col = "arco",
  return_plot = TRUE,
  palette = "sector",
  use_bw = FALSE,
  plot_title = NULL,
  plot_subtitle = NULL,
  chunk_size = 10000,
  person_vars = NULL,
  language = "it"
)

Arguments

data

A data.table containing vecshift-processed employment data

contract_type_var

Character. Column name containing contract type codes (default: "COD_TIPOLOGIA_CONTRATTUALE")

contract_type_value

Character. Specific contract type value to track

sector_col

Character. Column name containing sector codes (required parameter, no default)

n_quarters

Integer. Number of quarters to track after reference date (default: 4)

person_id

Character. Column name for person identifier (default: "cf")

start_date_col

Character. Column name for contract start dates (default: "inizio")

end_date_col

Character. Column name for contract end dates (default: "fine")

arco_col

Character. Column name for employment status indicator where 0 = unemployment and > 0 = employment (default: "arco")

return_plot

Logical. Whether to return the alluvial plot (default: TRUE)

palette

Character. Color palette to use: "sector", "main", "desaturated", "bw" (default: "sector")

use_bw

Logical. Force black and white palette (default: FALSE)

plot_title

Character. Custom plot title (default: auto-generated)

plot_subtitle

Character. Custom plot subtitle (default: auto-generated)

chunk_size

Integer. Number of persons to process per chunk for memory management (default: 10000)

person_vars

Character vector of person-level variable names to include in the output data (e.g., c("eta", "sesso", "istruzione")). Variables are extracted from the first target contract for each person. Default is NULL (no additional variables).

language

Character. Language for status labels: "it" for Italian, "en" for English (default: "it")

Value

A list containing:

  • data: data.table with individual-level quarterly sector trajectories

  • summary: data.table with aggregated trajectory patterns

  • transitions: data.table with aggregated transition counts between quarters, including columns: from_quarter, to_quarter, from_status, to_status, person_vars (if provided), count

  • plot: ggplot2 alluvial plot (if return_plot = TRUE)

  • parameters: List of function parameters used

Details

This function identifies individuals who had a specific contract type, uses the end date of their chronologically FIRST occurrence (earliest start date) as a reference point, then tracks sector transitions in the subsequent quarters. Sector status is determined by comparing the quarter's sector with the reference contract's sector.

Employment is determined by the arco variable where:

  • arco = 0: Indicates unemployment (not working)

  • arco > 0: Indicates employment (working)

When multiple contracts exist within a quarter:

  • Employment contracts (arco > 0) take priority over unemployment periods

  • Within each quarter, the sector is taken from the contract with the latest end date

  • Sector status is classified as:

    • "Same Sector": Sector matches the reference contract sector

    • "Different Sector": Sector differs from the reference contract

    • "Not Working": All contracts in the quarter have arco = 0 (unemployment)

    • "No Information": No contract data available for the quarter

The function only tracks forward in time from the reference date. When multiple contracts exist within a quarter, employment contracts (arco > 0) take priority, and among those, the contract with the latest end date provides the sector code.

See also

track_contract_trajectories, track_professional_trajectories, track_employer_trajectories, theme_vecshift

Examples

if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
# Track sector trajectories after temporary contracts using ATECO codes
result <- track_sector_trajectories(
  data = employment_data,
  contract_type_value = "B.01.00",
  sector_col = "ATECO_2007_SEZIONE",
  n_quarters = 4
)

# View the summary of sector trajectory patterns
print(result$summary)

# Display the alluvial plot
print(result$plot)

# Track trajectories with industry division codes
result_industry <- track_sector_trajectories(
  data = employment_data,
  contract_type_value = "B.01.00",
  sector_col = "ATECO_2007_DIVISIONE",
  n_quarters = 6
)

# Custom visualization with black and white
result_bw <- track_sector_trajectories(
  data = employment_data,
  contract_type_value = "B.01.00",
  sector_col = "ATECO_2007_SEZIONE",
  use_bw = TRUE,
  plot_title = "Sector Trajectories After Temporary Contracts"
)
} # }