Interstate Migration and Employer-to-Employer Transitions in the U.S.: New Evidence From Administrative Records Data

37 Pages Posted: 28 Oct 2016

See all articles by Henry R. Hyatt

Henry R. Hyatt

U.S. Census Bureau - Center for Economic Studies

Erika McEntarfer

U.S. Census Bureau

Ken Ueda

Government of the United States of America - Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)

Alexandria Zhang

Johns Hopkins University; Government of the United States of America - Bureau of the Census

Date Written: October 1, 2016

Abstract

Recent evidence has suggested that interstate migration is in decline in the United States, which might imply that the labor market is becoming more rigid. However, the sharp post-2000 decline in the non-imputed interstate migration rate in the Current Population Survey (CPS), which has received considerable attention, is not reflected in other available data. In this paper, we use administrative records data to investigate labor mobility and migration within the U.S. We investigate the discrepancy in recent migration trends in the CPS and migration rates derived from administrative records sources using CPS micro data linked to administrative records on residential location. We find that a substantial fraction of CPS respondents who are cross-state migrants in the administrative records data do not report a cross-state move in the CPS, and that this disagreement has grown over time. Despite this disagreement in recent trends in overall interstate migration, rates and trends related to economic migration are remarkably similar in available data sources.

Suggested Citation

Hyatt, Henry R. and McEntarfer, Erika and Ueda, Ken and Zhang, Alexandria, Interstate Migration and Employer-to-Employer Transitions in the U.S.: New Evidence From Administrative Records Data (October 1, 2016). US Census Bureau Center for Economic Studies Paper No. CES-WP- 16-44, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2859095 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2859095

Henry R. Hyatt (Contact Author)

U.S. Census Bureau - Center for Economic Studies ( email )

4700 Silver Hill Road
Washington, DC 20233
United States

Erika McEntarfer

U.S. Census Bureau ( email )

4600 Silver Hill Road
Washington, DC 20233
United States

Ken Ueda

Government of the United States of America - Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) ( email )

400 7th Street SW
Washington, DC 20219
United States

Alexandria Zhang

Johns Hopkins University ( email )

Baltimore, MD 21218
United States

Government of the United States of America - Bureau of the Census ( email )

4600 Silver Hill Road
Washington, DC 20233
United States

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