Job Mobility Patterns Research Articles

Are Women’s and Men’s Pay Increase Trajectories Different in Nonprofit and For-Profit Human Services Organizations?

Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation panel data, this study compares women’s and men’s pay increase trajectories and patterns of job mobility in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. As recent studies suggested that industry-specific rather than economy-wide analysis is more appropriate in nonprofit/for-profit comparison, this study only focuses on the human services field. The results indicate that: (1) there was a selection in workers’ choices regarding staying or changing sector of employment; (2) nonprofit workers who chose to move to the for-profit sector tended to be those worse off in the nonprofit sector, whereas for-profit workers who chose to move to the nonprofit sector tended to be those better off in the for-profit sector, and both of the mover groups gained by moving; (3) in both nonprofits and for-profits, men enjoyed a steeper pay increase curve by occupying more managerial positions, having higher levels of education, and working longer hours; (4) on average, there was no statistically significant difference in pay increase trajectories between workers who chose to stay in their sector of employment. Consistent with previous studies, the regression analyses further support the argument that, within human services, there is not necessarily a sectoral difference in the gender pay gap—in other words, nonprofits are not necessarily more equitable than for-profits.

Work trajectories and status attainment process: a study using sequence analysis

Applying sequence analysis methods to work trajectories recorded in the 2012 China Labor Force Dynamics Survey, this study examines the types of work trajectories in China’s urban labor market in three dimensions: employment status, organizational type, and work position. The findings suggest that along with the market transition, China’s urban labor market is experiencing diverse and complex job mobility patterns. This study identifies four types of work trajectories: the merit-based work trajectory, the blue-collar’s work trajectory in the private sector, the blue-collar’s work trajectory in state-owned enterprises, and the self-employed trajectory. These four typical work trajectories have significantly different influences on individuals’ attainment of socioeconomic status and elite status. This study sheds light on the microprocesses in status attainment by examining the role of work trajectories from a longitudinal perspective.

Gender Equality Paradise Revisited: The Dynamics of Gender Disbalance in Russian Engineering from the Late Soviet Time to the 2010s

The Soviet Union, during the late socialist period, is believed to have achieved impressive progress in making gender equality in STEM come true. The collapse of the Soviet Union and rapid transition to the market economy, accompanied by destruction of industrial production and economic decline, brought unprecedented challenges to the engineering profession. How has the post-socialist transition affected gender (dis)balance? We use rich, unique, and previously unexplored big data from a Russian-speaking social network, VKontakte, to answer this question. Our primary finding is that there have been negative gender dynamics since the late Soviet times, the gender gap has widened, and gender inequality in engineering has become more acute. Women’s presence in the profession has considerably decreased. Gender segregation, both vertical and horizontal, in higher education and at the workplace has solidified. We found minor gender discrepancies in job mobility patterns, and even slightly declining mobility since Soviet time. However, changing mobility patterns does not seem to have affected the gender imbalance positively. We find partial support for the leaky pipeline argument in higher engineering education and paid employment. We conclude that the 1990s was a period of harsh masculinization and intensifying gender inequality in engineering in Russia, and the current situation is still under the influence of these trends.

Demographic Characteristics and Job Mobility in Banking Industry in Nigeria

This study explores the relationship between demographic characteristics and job mobility within the Nigerian banking industry. Employing a descriptive survey design and convenient sampling technique, data were collected from 113 bank employees across five major banking institutions in Port Harcourt. The analysis utilized both univariate (descriptive statistics) and bivariate (inferential statistics) methods to examine the influence of age, gender, marital status, and job preferences on employees' mobility decisions. Findings reveal significant associations between demographic factors and job mobility patterns, highlighting the impact of age, gender, and marital status on employees' career decisions. The study underscores the importance of tailored human resource policies, career development programs, and diversity initiatives to address demographic-related challenges in job mobility and enhance employee satisfaction and retention. Recommendations are provided for banking institutions to create inclusive work environments and promote equal opportunities for career growth.

Do Startup Employees Earn More in the Long Run?

Evaluating the attractiveness of startup employment requires an understanding of both what startups pay and the implications of these jobs for earnings trajectories. Analyzing Danish registry data, we find that employees hired by startups earn roughly 17% less over the next 10 years than those hired by large, established firms. About half of this earnings differential stems from sorting—from the fact that startup employees have less human capital. Long-term earnings also vary depending on when individuals are hired. Although the earliest employees of startups suffer an earnings penalty, those hired by already-successful startups earn a small premium. Two factors appear to account for the earnings penalties for the early employees: Startups fail at high rates, creating costly spells of unemployment for their (former) employees. Job-mobility patterns also diverge: After being employed by a small startup, individuals rarely return to the large employers that pay more.

Understanding job mobility patterns in contemporary China: A comparative study based on the China Family Panel Studies and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics

Based on a comparison between labor markets in China and those in the USA and using data from the China Family Panel Studies and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this paper studies the level, distribution and socioeconomic patterns of job mobility in contemporary China. I first discuss the different social contexts in China and the USA that have generated distinct opportunity structures of job mobility. Differences in levels of economic development, cultural traditions and institutional arrangements help to shape different labor markets and job mobility patterns across the two societies. I argue that job mobility is not always as good as we thought. There is a duality of job mobility at both the individual and the societal levels. Second, I develop several indexes and use the percentile share method to analyze job mobility rates by different groups and their uneven distributions. Compared to the USA, I find that China has a lower overall level of job mobility, a more skewed distribution and a higher concentration of mobility in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, such as the elderly, the less-educated and those of rural origin. The results demonstrate the importance of understanding the duality of mobility; that is, that mobility can be either upward or downward. In contemporary China, socioeconomically disadvantaged people may suffer downward job mobility.

The Grass is Greener, But Why? Evidence of Employees’ Perceived Sector Mismatch from the US, New Zealand, and Taiwan

ABSTRACTTo answer the question of who wants to work for the government, scholars have relied on a few approaches, including sector preference, sector-based comparison of work motives, and sector-switching patterns of job mobility. The present study offers a related but distinct approach: perceived sector mismatch. The attractiveness of public sector jobs differs greatly across countries; thus, in order to present a more comprehensive study, we examine data from the U.S., New Zealand, and Taiwan, where attitudes towards public sector jobs differ significantly as a result of different public service laws and traditions. Across all three samples, we find that, among private sector employees, the preference for a public service job is related to socio-economic disadvantage. Among public sector workers, reasons for perceived sector mismatch vary, but often suggesting job dissatisfaction in current public sector jobs, rather than perceived advantages of the private sector (including compensation). These findings are followed by theoretical and practical implications from this comparative study.

Market Transition, Labor Market Segmentation and Organizational Mobility

On the basis of data from the 2008 Chinese General Social Survey, this paper analyzes the changing organizational job mobility patterns of members of society in a segmented labor market. The structure of labor market segmentation is based on differences in the power of different labor sectors to distribute social resources, leading to further differences in their power of “attraction” or “repulsion” that influence people’s organizational mobility. These forces are strongest in the primary labor market, lessening the possibility that workers will leave their jobs and raising the possibility of cross-sector mobility. In the course of China’s market transition, changes in the power to allocate social resources have entailed changes in the structure of labor market segmentation, changes that have been reflected in organizational mobility. Our examination of changing modes of organizational mobility reveals that the structure of urban labor market segmentation has changed from being mainly systemic at the outset of reform and opening up to the current coexistence of systemic segmentation and market segmentation.

Career choice and the strength of weak ties

This paper argues that the structure (i.e., size and composition) of the informal search network is a crucial determinant of the career decisions of young workers. Building on the search-theoretic career choice and job mobility model proposed by Neal (1999), I compare the consequences of career advice by one's weak ties versus that by strong ties. The main result is that receiving help from weak ties is associated with early career and job settlements, while the strong ties are more likely to lead to amplified mobility and generate mismatch. Given a network size, I find a strongly positive correlation between the fraction of weak ties among one's informal connections and the likelihood of settling on a stable career path early in the life course. I also find that the sign of this correlation persists, while the magnitude gets smaller as the network size increases. I conclude that the strength-of-weak-ties hypothesis can shed light on the complexity of job mobility patterns among young workers. The model can explain why it takes much longer for blacks—whose informal networks are documented to consist of strong ties—to locate a stable career path than their white counterparts. It also predicts that young workers from closed and segregated neighborhoods tend to spend more time before they find suitable careers.

Gender and job mobility among rural to urban temporary migrants in the Pearl River Delta in China

Previous studies have found that there is a female disadvantage among rural migrants in the urban labour market in China. It remains unclear whether migrant women also lag behind migrant men in job mobility, an important channel for rural migrants to improve their labour market outcomes. Using data from a large-scale survey conducted in the Pearl River Delta region, one of the most important migration destinations in China, we examine gender gaps in job mobility of rural migrants from 1979 to 2006. Focusing on job mobility, this paper sheds new light on the changing gender dynamics among rural migrants in China. Most of the model results lend support to our hypotheses concerning the gendered job mobility patterns of rural migrants. We find that migrant women are less likely to change jobs for work-related reasons and more likely to engage in family-centered job mobility. Results of fixed-effects models of monthly wage further reveal that the positive effect of work-centered job mobility on rural migrants’ wages is smaller for migrant women. We also find that marriage does not disadvantage migrant women more than men in either work centred or family centred job mobility, and that there is a declining trend of female disadvantage in family-centered job mobility, which all points to the transformative role migration plays for rural migrants.

Career Choice and the Strength of Weak Ties

This paper argues that the structure (i.e., size and composition) of the informal search network is a crucial determinant of the career decisions of young workers. Building on the search-theoretic career choice and job mobility model proposed by Neal (1999), I compare the consequences of career advice by one's weak ties versus that by strong ties. The main result is that receiving help from weak ties is associated with early career and job settlements, while the strong ties are more likely to lead to amplified mobility and generate mismatch. Given a network size, I find a strongly positive correlation between the fraction of weak ties among one's informal connections and the likelihood of settling on a stable career path early in the life course. I also find that the sign of this correlation persists, while the magnitude gets smaller as the network size increases. I conclude that the strength-of-weak-ties hypothesis can shed light on the complexity of job mobility patterns among young workers. The model can explain why it takes much longer for blacks – whose informal networks are documented to consist of strong ties – to locate a stable career path than their white counterparts. It also predicts that young workers from closed and segregated neighborhoods tend to spend more time before they find suitable careers.

순차분석을 활용한 베이비붐 세대의 직업이동 분석

본 연구의 목적은 순차분석방법(Sequential analysis)을 적용하여 한국 베이비붐 세대 근로자의 최근 15년 동안의 직업이동 패턴과 유형의 특징을 탐색하는데 있다. 이러한 탐색은 한국 근로자의 후기 경력패턴을 확인함으로써 효과적인 퇴직 지원 전략을 탐색하는데 중요한 시사점을 줄 수 있을 것으로 생각된다. 특히, 본 연구에서는 근로자의 직업이동 유형과 빈도분석, 직업별 변환확률분석, 유의도검사 등을 활용하여 근로자 직업이동 간의 관계를 제시하였다. 분석을 위해 노동패널의 15년차 직업력 자료를 활용하였다. 연구결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 베이비붐 세대 남성 근로자는 전문가 및 준전문가의 비중에 비해 단순 기술 기능 조립직의 종사자와 농업임업 및 어업 숙련종사자의 비중이 높아지는 특성을 보였다. 둘째, 베이비붐 여성근로자의 서비스종사자, 판매종사자, 기능 종사자 및 단순노무 근로비중이 상당히 높은 특성을 보였다. 이러한 특징은 베이비붐 세대가 퇴직 후 귀농을 선택하거나, 단순노무직과 같은 낮은 일자리로의 직업이동을 하고 있음을 시사한다. 연구 결과를 토대로 다양한 형태의 전직 및 퇴직지원 서비스가 필요함을 제안하였다. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influential factors on the job mobility types and patterns of baby boomers over the past 15 years. Sequential analysis was conducted to analyze the data that were derived from Wave 1~15(1998~2013) of Korean Labor and Income Panel Study(KLIPS). In particular, we analyzed the job mobility types and frequency, conversion analysis, probability, and significance rate. The results were as follows: firstly, proportional rates of male baby boomer workers such as technical, functional, and agriculture workers were higher than those of professionals and semi-professionals, whereas in case of female baby boomer workers, proportional rate of office workers were lower than those of service and sales workers. It was showed that functional and labor workers significantly higher than others. We found that after retiring, they left their job to search for farming job or choose to work in secondary labor markets. We suggested that the retirement support system and management system should be designed and conducted in a good manner.

Turnover or Turnaway? Competing Risks Analysis of Male and Female IT Professionals’ Job Mobility and Relative Pay Gap

This study draws on distributive justice, human capital, and stigmatization theories to hypothesize relationships between relative pay gap and patterns of job mobility. Our study also expands the criterion space of job mobility by contrasting different job destinations when information technology (IT) professionals make job moves. We examine three job moves: (a) turnover to another IT job in a different firm, (b) turnaway-within to a non-IT job, and (c) turnaway-between to a different firm and a non-IT job. We analyze work histories spanning 28 years for 359 IT professionals drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. We report three major findings. First, as hypothesized, larger relative pay gaps significantly increase the likelihood of job mobility. Second, IT males and IT females have different job mobility patterns. IT males are more likely to turn over than turn away-between when faced with a relative pay gap. Further, and contrary to predictions from human capital theory, IT males are more likely to turn away-within than turn over. This surprising finding suggests that the ubiquitous use of IT in other business functions may have increased the value of IT skills for non-IT jobs and reduced the friction of moving from IT to other non-IT positions. Third, and consistent with stigmatization arguments, IT females are more likely to turn away from IT than to turn over when faced with a relative pay gap. In fact, to reduce relative pay gaps, IT females tend to take on lower-status jobs that pay less than their IT jobs. We conclude this study with important theoretical, practical, and policy implications.

Gender Effect in Explaining Mobility Patterns in the Labor Market: A Case Study of Turkey

This paper examines the importance of gender for different job mobility patterns using an extensive household survey data from İzmir, the third largest city in Turkey. The determinants of job‐to‐job and job‐to‐nonemployment transitions are analyzed with the help of a multinomial logit estimation method. The results indicate that there is a distinction regarding the probability of job mobility patterns based on gender. It is more likely for women to be engaged in job‐to‐nonemployment transition, whereas men tend to change jobs more often. Although gender plays a significant role in job mobility patterns, traditionally imposed social constraints associated with childcare and household duties provide us with mixed results considering the behavior of women in the job market. On the other hand, having highly paid and secure jobs decreases the probability of both patterns of job mobility.

Labor Market Institutions and Job Mobility in Asian Societies: A Comparative Study of Japan and Taiwan

AbstractIn this article we focus on job mobility patterns in Japan and Taiwan, exploring how local institutional settings are linked to patterns of job mobility. Previous studies have distinguished between involuntary and voluntary job mobility. However, more diverse patterns of job mobility may also exist, which are not captured by this dichotomy. In this study we used representative national survey data from Japan and Taiwan and analyzed five types of job turnover: involuntary, positive voluntary, negative voluntary, family related and other. Using event history models we found significant differences between the two societies. First, the effect of higher education on voluntary job mobility was weaker in Japan than in Taiwan. Second, the effect of organizational size on voluntary job mobility was stronger in Japan than in Taiwan. Third, these tendencies were more significant for men than for women. These results suggest that the local institutional filters affect the turnover process.

Mobility for care workers: Job changes and wages for nurse aides

The long-term care industry in the United States faces serious recruitment and retention problems among nurse aides. At the same time, these low-wage workers may feel trapped in poorly-paid jobs from which they would do well to leave. Despite this tension, not enough is known about how workers fare when they leave (or stay in) such care work. Using longitudinal data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation for the years 1996–2003, we examine the relationship between different job and occupational mobility patterns and wage outcomes for nurse aides, focusing on which job transitions offer better opportunities to earn higher wages and on whether job transition patterns differ by race. Our results confirm high turnover among nurse aides, with 73 percent of the sample working in occupations other than nurse aide at some point during the survey time frame. About half of respondents that transition out of nurse aide work move into higher-paying occupations, although the percentage of transitions to higher paying occupations drops to 35 percent when nurse aides that become RNs are excluded. Among black workers especially, wage penalties for moving into other jobs in the low-wage labor market appear to be rather small, likely a factor in high turnover among nurse aides. The findings illustrate the importance of occupation-specific mobility trajectories and their outcomes for different groups of workers, and for understanding the constrained decisions these workers make.

Wage-Tenure Profiles and Mobility

The Dutch labour market is characterized by low job mobility and high average duration of unemployment for older jobseekers. This study investigates the role of wage-tenure profiles in explaining patterns of job mobility. Based on a large administrative database, the estimates show that wage-tenure profiles in the Netherlands are relatively steep. Furthermore, industries with high returns to tenure appear to have a high share of older workers, as well as high average job tenure. This implies that steep wage-tenure profiles are related to low levels of mobility.

Which type of job mobility makes people happy? A comparative analysis of European welfare regimes

In view of changing job mobility patterns in Europe, the impact of job mobility on job satisfaction is gaining importance, yet has received little attention. This article analyses 23 European countries to address two questions: (1) how do different types of job mobility affect job satisfaction, and (2) do welfare state regimes alter the relationship between job mobility and job satisfaction? Theoretically the study integrates economic and sociological approaches to job satisfaction with insights from the psychology of well-being. The findings show that job mobility differentially affects job satisfaction domains. External upward mobility is decisive to enhance satisfaction with objective working conditions and work–life balance, while internal mobility is pivotal for satisfaction with future career prospects. The experience of unemployment lowers all job satisfaction domains even after re-employment. The article’s findings on welfare regimes indicate that social policies interact with country differences in workforce composition, such as the overall prevalence of unemployment, to determine job satisfaction.

Circular job-related spatial mobility in Germany:<br>Comparative analyses of two representative surveys on the forms, prevalence and relevance in the context of partnership and family development<br>

Over the past few decades, employees have had to come to terms with increased demands of the labour market requiring greater flexibility and mobility. At the same time, increasingly versatile and complex forms of job-related spatial mobility are emerging. Consequently, the correlation between job mobility patterns and family-related processes is attracting more and more attention in the field of mobility and family research. However, to date there has rarely been a standard by which to systematically record and analyse job mobility. “Job Mobilities and Family Lives in Europe” (JobMob), a comparative European survey, and the “Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics” (pairfam) constitute two sets of representative data for Germany, which provide largely comparable operationalisations for several forms of circular job mobility, thus allowing us to systematically perform comparative analyses. For the first time ever in this field of research, it is now possible to subject findings to a direct reciprocal validation process and to check whether general rules and correlations can be derived from them.In this regard, the present article aims at achieving three essential objectives. First, we will introduce a common indicator for circular job mobility patterns found in the two surveys. On the basis of this common indicator, we will comparatively analyse the prevalence of different mobility forms and their composition according to key socio-demographic characteristics. In addition, we will use multivariate analyses to illustrate the relevance of job mobility for partnership and family development. Results suggest mobility patterns to be an important individual context factor when explaining processes relevant to partnerships and family. In particular, women who exhibit some degree of job mobility are less often married and rarely have children.

Labor Market Segmentation, Job Mobility and the Two-track Model of Chinese Urban Workers’ Acquisition of Economic Status

使用“2009年中国社会网络与职业经历调查” (JSNET2009) 广州、上海、厦门、 济南和西安五城市数据, 检验了改革以后影响中国城市劳动者职业流动模式以及经济 地位获得的因素。研究结果表明, 高学历劳动者与低学历劳动者群体处于两个分割的 劳动力市场中, 他们的经济地位获得路径完全不同。对于低学历劳动者, 职业流动是 提升他们收入水平的最重要因素, 而人力资本因素 (受教育年限和工作经验) 对他们 的收入没有影响。高学历劳动者的情况刚好相反, 职业流动对收入获得没有任何作 用, 影响他们收入分层的最重要因素是人力资本。本研究揭示了转型期中国城市地区 不同劳动力市场劳动者的经济地位获得的二元路径模式。 关键词: 劳动力市场分割 职业流动 收入分层 人力资本回报 Using data from the “Survey of Social Networks and Occupational Experience in Chinese Cities in 2009” on five cities (Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xiamen, Jinan and Xi’an), this paper examines factors influencing Chinese urban workers’ patterns of job mobility and acquisition of economic status in the post-reform era. The results show that workers with high educational levels and those with low educational levels occupy different segments of the labor market and have completely different paths to economic status acquisition. In the case of workers with a low educational level, job mobility is the most important factor boosting income levels, while human capital variables (years of schooling and work experience) have no effect on income. By contrast, job mobility has no effect on the income of workers with a high educational level, whose income stratification is most affected by their human capital. This research reveals the two-track model of urban workers’ acquisition of economic status in different urban labor markets in transitional China.