Inter-firm job mobility and occupational transitions in Spain: are they related?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed knowledge about the relationship between the inter-firm job mobility and the occupational transitions in Spain during the last years. In particular, it is tested whether if the type of job-to-job mobility (voluntary or involuntary) has some influence on the workers careers. The empirical analysis is based on panel data provided by the Living Condition Survey, which is conducted by the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). The period analysed covers the years between 2005 and 2010 (both inclusive), what allows observing the labour mobility patterns in the recent Spanish economic crisis. Design/methodology/approach – The econometric specification used to analyse occupational mobility corresponds to a random effect panel multinomial logit model. The econometric model is estimated separately for workers that have remained at the same firm and for workers who have changed firms; for the latter group, a dummy variable indicating whether the individual quit or was laid off is included as a regressor. Findings – The results derived from the estimates of the econometric specifications show that individuals who voluntarily leave a firm find the decision has a positive effect on their careers, as their probability of upward occupational mobility is more than 90 per cent higher than for individuals who leave their previous position as a result of having been laid off. Social implications – This result is an argument in favour of adopting active labour market policies that help improve information flows in the labour market and allow workers a better understanding of potential job offers from outside firms. Originality/value – This paper analyses the relationship between inter-firm mobility and occupational transitions that has not yet addressed in the economic literature for Spain.