Intermittent work activity and earnings

Abstract

Patterns of intermittent work activity appear to be more common in the modern labour market, at least for younger workers. This study extends earlier models of the relationship between labour market intermittency and earnings to include both part time work and nonparticipation, to differentiate between past work experience and current job tenure, to allow for nonlinear experience effects, and to account for selection bias arising from the exclusion of nonworkers. The results suggest that the effects of part time work and nonparticipation on earnings are similar. Moreover, some common patterns emerge: the effects are larger for women, greater for young workers, and greater when intermittency replaces current job tenure.