Job Tenure and Job Mobility in Britain

Using work-history data from the British Household Panel Survey, the authors examine job mobility and job tenure over the period 1915–90. British men and women held an average of five jobs over the course of their work lives, and half of all lifetime job changes occurred in the first ten years. Separation hazards were higher for more recent cohorts, implying an increase in job instability. As jobs accumulated, average tenure lengthened, but the proportion of involuntary separations increased. For both men and women, the rise in job instability was particularly marked in the lowest occupational classification. In general, job insecurity was greater for men than women.