Patterns of Occupational Mobility

In this study, I examine patterns of mobility across almost 500 detailed occupations using the longitudinal aspect of the Current Population Survey Basic Monthly Survey since 1994. I find that less educated, younger, and lower paid workers are more likely to change occupations. I show that this is consistent with the view that human capital is occupation specific. I also construct clusters of occupations based on mobility patterns, and find that there are large clusters of occupations for occupations filled by lower educated workers, while no such large clusters exist among occupations filled by more educated workers. This shows that occupational-specific human capital is more important for more educated workers