Labor Market Fluidity and Economic Performance
John C. Haltiwanger and Steven Davis ,
NBER Working Paper No. 20479
September
2014
w20479.pdf1.71 MB
Abstract

U.S. labor markets became much less fluid in recent decades. Job reallocation rates fell more than a quarter after 1990, and worker reallocation rates fell more than a quarter after 2000. The declines cut across states, industries and demographic groups defined by age, gender and education. Younger and less educated workers had especially large declines, as did the retail sector. A shift to older businesses, an aging workforce, and policy developments that suppress reallocation all contributed to fluidity declines.

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