The puzzling fixity of multiple job holding across regions and labor markets

Barry T. Hirsch (Georgia State University and IZA), Muhammad M. Husain (Georgia State University), John V. Winters (Oklahoma State University and IZA)

Multiple job holding rates differ substantially across U.S. regions, states, and metropolitan areas. Rates decrease markedly with respect to labor market size. These patterns have been largely overlooked, despite being relatively fixed over (at least) the 1998-2014 period. This paper explores explanations for these persistent differences. We account for over half of the mean absolute deviation in multiple job holding across local labor markets (MSAs). Most important in explaining variation in multiple job holding are worker characteristics, commute times, MSA ancestry shares, and, to a lesser extent, labor market churn. City size accounts for little of the variation once we condition on commute times.

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Year of publication:	January 2016
Authors:	Hirsch, Barry T. ; Husain, Muhammad M. ; Winters, John V.
Publisher:	Bonn : IZA
Subject:	multiple job holding \| local labor markets \| city size and regional differences \| commuting costs \| Regionaler Arbeitsmarkt \| Regional labour market \| Nebentätigkeit \| Multiple job holding \| Pendelverkehr \| Commuting \| Räumliche Verteilung \| Spatial distribution \| Städtischer Arbeitsmarkt \| Urban labour market \| Stadtgröße \| City size \| Theorie \| Theory \| Regionale Lohnstruktur \| Regional wage structure \| Arbeitsmarkt \| Labour market