U.S. Labor Market Dynamics Revisited

The picture of U.S. labor market dynamics is opaque. This paper aims at its clarification by (i) listing data facts that can be agreed upon; these indicate that there is considerable cyclicality and volatility of both accessions to and separations from employment and hence both are important for the understanding of the business cycle; (ii) presenting the business-cycle facts of key series; (iii) pointing to specific gaps in the data picture, showing that the definite characterization of labor market dynamics depends upon the closing of these data gaps. Copyright The editors of the "Scandinavian Journal of Economics" 2008 .