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Trends and cycles in U.S. job mobility

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  • Damir Stijepic

Abstract

Recent studies document a decline in U.S. labor‐market fluidity from as early as the 1970s on. Making use of the Annual Social and Economic supplement to the Current Population Survey, I uncover a pronounced increase in job‐to‐job mobility from the 1970s to the 1990s, i.e. the annual share of continuously employed job‐to‐job movers rises from 5.9% of the labor force in 1975–1979 to 8.8% in 1995–1999. Job‐to‐job mobility exhibits a downward trend only since the turn of the millennium. In order to provide a formal economic interpretation, I additionally estimate the parameters of the random on‐the‐job search model. Furthermore, I document that job‐to‐job mobility has an unconditional correlation of −0.86 with the unemployment rate at business‐cycle frequencies in 1975–2017, varying by around 3 percentage points over the business cycle.

Suggested Citation

  • Damir Stijepic, 2021. "Trends and cycles in U.S. job mobility," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 89(2), pages 203-222, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:manchs:v:89:y:2021:i:2:p:203-222
    DOI: 10.1111/manc.12355
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    1. Stijepic, Damir, 2021. "A cross-country study of skills and unemployment flows," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 55, pages 1-9.

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