Changing jobs: worker mobility and wages in the UK labour market

Pinjas Albagli, Nye Cominetti, Rui Vieira Marques Da Costa, Andrew Eyles and Guglielmo Ventura

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: We study the role of job-to-job transitions in shaping wage dynamics in the UK. We show that job moves have continued to generate substantial wage gains for movers even during a period of real wage stagnation and declining labour market mobility. Using an econometric model that accounts for worker, firm and match heterogeneity, we decompose the job mobility premium, and find a limited role for worker and firm effects, with most of the return explained by match-specific factors. We also examine the determinants of job mobility, and show that much of its recent decline reflects compositional changes in the workforce, particularly ageing and increasing occupational professionalization. We conclude by discussing the policy challenges of promoting job mobility as a driver of wage growth and more efficient labour market reallocation.

JEL-codes: J01 J1 R14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2026-08-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec
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Published in Economica, 5, August, 2026. ISSN: 0013-0427

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