Unemployment inflows fell from 4 percent of employment per month in the early 1980s to 2 percent or less by the mid 1990s and thereafter. U.S. data also show a secular decline in firm-level employment volatility and the job destruction rate. We interpret this decline as a decrease in the...

The authors use establishment data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) to study the micro-level behavior of worker quits and their relation to recruitment and establishment growth. They find that quits decline with establishment growth, playing the most important role at...

This paper presents new evidence on the relationship between a metropolitan area’s employment growth and its establishment age distribution. The author finds that cities with a relatively younger distribution of establishments tend to have higher growth, as well as higher job and establishment...

This paper uses new data on job creation and job destruction to find evidence of a link between the jobless recoveries of the last two recessions and the recent decline in aggregate volatility known as the Great Moderation. The author finds that the last two recessions are characterized by...

Many theoretical models of labor market search imply a tight link between worker flows (hires and separations), vacancies, and job flows (employer-level employment growth) at the employer level. Using establishment data from multiple sources for the U.S., we show that hiring, quit, layoff, and...

Recruitment effort by a firm can signify one of two things: a desire to expand or a need to replace workers who have quit profitable positions. Standard matching models with on-the-job search treat these two recruitment activities as the same. Yet, we provide empirical evidence that suggests...

To hire new workers, employers use a variety of recruiting methods in addition to posting a vacancy announcement. The intensity with which employers use these alternative methods can vary widely with a firm’s performance and with the business cycle. In fact, persistently low recruiting...

We use micro data on applications to job openings by individuals on a job search website to study the relationship between search intensity and search duration. Our data allow us to control for several factors that can affect the measured relationship between intensity and duration, including...

Many theoretical models of labor market search imply a tight link between worker flows (hires and separations) and job gains and losses at the employer level. We use rich establishment-level data to assess several theoretical models and to study the relationship between worker flows and jobs...

We use longitudinal microdata to estimate the urban density premium for U.S. establishments, controlling for observed establishment characteristics and dynamic establishment behavior. Consistent with previous studies, we estimate a density premium between 6 and 10 percent, even after controlling...