Doctoral Dissertation Research: Job Instability and Worker Wellbeing

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Since the 1980s, job stability for American workers has been falling as employers pursue increased flexibility in employment systems. Traditionally vulnerable groups such as young workers and blacks have experienced the largest decreases in stability, but even hitherto stable workers such as older managers and professionals have been affected. This project investigates the economic consequences of frequent job changes for workers who first entered the labor market in the early 1980s. Because worker and labor market characteristics shape the relationship between mobility and wages, the economic effects of instability are unlikely to be uniform. The project thus explores the conditions under which job instability creates better or worse wage outcomes.Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth from 1979 to 1998, the analysis identifies how three main contextual factors shape the relationship between mobility patterns and wage profiles: 1) workers' reasons for changing jobs, 2) patterns of job change, 3) and types of labor markets in which the changes occur. The results offer theoretical insights into the consequences of economic change for worker well-being, and policy implications for addressing the needs of workers without a permanent employer.