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The Flow Approach to Labor Markets: New Data Sources, Micro-Macro Links and the Recent Downturn

Author

Listed:
  • Davis, Steven J.

    (Hoover Institution)

  • Faberman, Jason

    (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago)

  • Haltiwanger, John C.

    (University of Maryland)

Abstract

New data sources and products developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of the Census highlight the dynamic character of U.S. labor markets. Private-sector job creation and destruction rates average nearly 8% of employment per quarter. Worker flows in the form of hires and separations are more than twice as large. The data also underscore the lumpy nature of micro-level employment adjustments. More than two-thirds of job destruction occurs at establishments that shrink by more than 10% within the quarter, and more than one-fifth occurs at those that go to zero employment. Our study also uncovers highly nonlinear relationships of worker flows to employment growth and job flows at the micro level. These micro relations interact with movements over time in the cross-sectional density of establishment growth rates to produce recurring cyclical patterns in aggregate labor market flows. Cyclical movements in the layoffs-separation ratio, for example, and the propensity of separated workers to become unemployed reflect distinct micro relations for quits and layoffs. A dominant role for the job-finding rate in accounting for unemployment movements in mild downturns and a bigger role for the job-loss rate in severe downturns reflect distinct micro relations for hires and layoffs.

Suggested Citation

  • Davis, Steven J. & Faberman, Jason & Haltiwanger, John C., 2005. "The Flow Approach to Labor Markets: New Data Sources, Micro-Macro Links and the Recent Downturn," IZA Discussion Papers 1639, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1639
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    Cited by:

    1. Bosch, Mariano & Maloney, William F., 2007. "Gross Worker Flows in the Presence of Informal Labor Markets: Evidence from Mexico, 1987-2002," IZA Discussion Papers 2864, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    3. Shigeru Fujita, 2007. "What do worker flows tell us about cyclical fluctuations in employment?," Business Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, issue Q2, pages 1-10.
    4. Olivier Blanchard, 2006. "European unemployment: the evolution of facts and ideas [‘The macroeconomics of low inflation’]," Economic Policy, CEPR;CES;MSH, vol. 21(45), pages 6-59.
    5. Strawinski, Pawel, 2008. "What drives the Unemployment Rate in Poland," MPRA Paper 11372, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Samaniego, Roberto M., 2008. "Can technical change exacerbate the effects of labor market sclerosis," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 497-528, February.
    7. Paweł Strawiński, 2009. "Ins and Outs of Polish Unemployment," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 1(3), pages 243-259, November.
    8. Helge Braun & Reinout De Bock & Riccardo DiCecio, 2009. "Supply shocks, demand shocks, and labor market fluctuations," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 91(May), pages 155-178.
    9. Stanislaw Cichocki & Joanna Tyrowicz & Lucas van der Velde, 2017. "Cyclical Trend of Labor Reallocation in Poland: Transition and Structural Change," Eastern European Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(6), pages 543-556, November.
    10. Steven J. Davis & R. Jason Faberman & John Haltiwanger, 2006. "The Flow Approach to Labor Markets: New Data Sources and Micro-Macro Links," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(3), pages 3-26, Summer.
    11. Mihir A. Desai & C. Fritz Foley & James R. Hines Jr., 2005. "Foreign Direct Investment and Domestic Economic Activity," NBER Working Papers 11717, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Bosch, Mariano & Maloney, William, 2006. "Gross worker flows in the presence of informal labor markets. The Mexican experience 1987-2002," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19798, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. R. Jason Faberman, 2009. "Studying the Labor Market with the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey," NBER Chapters, in: Producer Dynamics: New Evidence from Micro Data, pages 83-108, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Chipeta Chama & Meyer Daniel Francois & Muzindutsi Paul-Francois, 2017. "The Effect of Exchange Rate Movements and Economic Growth on Job Creation," Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Oeconomica, Sciendo, vol. 62(2), pages 20-41, August.
    15. Reinout De Bock, 2007. "Investment-Specific Technology Shocks and Labor Market Frictions," Working Paper Research 108, National Bank of Belgium.
    16. Gabriela Grotkowska & Leszek Wincenciak & Tomasz Gajderowicz, 2016. "Public-private wage differential in a post-transition economy: A copula approach to the switching regression model," Working Papers 2016-19, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    17. Robert Shimer, 2012. "Reassessing the Ins and Outs of Unemployment," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 15(2), pages 127-148, April.
    18. Ronald Bachmann, 2005. "Labour Market Dynamics in Germany: Hirings, Separations, and Job-to-Job Transitions over the Business Cycle," SFB 649 Discussion Papers SFB649DP2005-045, Sonderforschungsbereich 649, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    job destruction; job creation; separations; hires;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs

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