Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? Regional Labor Mobility of German University Graduates

In this study we trace university graduates’ labor mobility when entering the labor market after graduation. We examine to what extent such mobility is determined by regional factors of the university region, personal characteristics of graduates as well as their field of study. Our analysis is based on a large-scale dataset of labor market mobility of individuals who graduated from 36 German universities in 2007. Our results suggest that graduates are less likely to leave metropolises and that regional labor markets influence mobility. Further, field of study and individual willingness to be mobile, as indicated by prior mobility from school to university and mobility during the studies, impact mobility when entering the labor market. These results indicate that both regional and individual factors influence graduate mobility. Moreover, by applying a two-stage model approach we find that mobility is mediated by the probability to find regular employment.