R Jason Faberman (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), Richard L. Clayton, Akbar Sadeghi, James R. Spletzer, David M. Talan

MEASURING THE JOB CREATION AND JOB DESTRUCTION DYNAMICS UNDERLYING EMPLOYMENT GROWTH

This paper introduces a relatively new source of establishment microdata produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. From these data, the Bureau will produce quarterly estimates of job creation and job destruction for the U.S. labor market. These statistics will provide a detailed picture of the constant job turnover that underlies employment growth. The paper describes the scope and coverage of the data, as well as the methodologies used to link establishment records over time. Finally, the paper presents preliminary estimates of job creation and destruction for the U.S. private sector from 1992 through 2002. These estimates show that the most recent economic downturn had a dramatic, but short- lived increase in the pace of job destruction. The 2001 recession, however, has had a dramatic decrease in the rate of job creation, which persists through the end of 2002.

Keywords: business cycles, job creation, job destruction, establishment microdata

JEL Codes: C82, E24, E32, J63

Session: 3d   Room 2003   Category: Labour market dynamics 1

Paper