Racial/ethnic differences in voluntary and involuntary job mobility among young men

Abstract

Using the 1979–1994 waves of the NLSY-79 data, this study investigates racial/ethnic differences in the rates of voluntary and involuntary job mobility among young men. We find that there is no significant difference among racial/ethnic groups in the likelihood of voluntary job changing. However, blacks do suffer from job instability in that their likelihood of leaving jobs involuntarily is much higher than that of whites or Hispanics. Within the Hispanic population, Mexicans are more likely to experience involuntary job separation compared to whites, though they are not as likely to do so as are blacks. The results confirm the importance of separately analyzing the mechanisms and processes of voluntary and involuntary mobility in order to understand better the disadvantages of some groups in career development.