This paper examines if stressful events during childhood impact the labour market position in adulthood within the Swedish 1973 birth cohort. Empirical analyses are based on individual, longitudinal register data from the ASTRID database covering the total Swedish population between 1960-2008. We will analyze the different ways in which three specific events; parental separation, death of parent(s) and/or frequent migration, affect labour market outcome in an OLS-regression, controlling for family background characteristics. These events can occur in isola- tion or they can be interrelated. It is of importance to examine the effect of one single event as well as the accumulated effect of several events. The 1973 cohort makes an interesting case, since they both have experienced change in the nuclear family system during their childhood, and a period of recession and youth unemployment as well as cutbacks in social policy programmes during their age of labour market entrance. Our study thus focuses on how stressful events in childhood affect children’s life courses in turbulent times.