Are All the Stable Jobs Gone? The Transformation of the Worker–Firm Relationship and Trends in Job Tenure Duration and Separations in Canada, 1976–2015

Xavier St-Denis and Matissa Hollister
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Xavier St-Denis: Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), Canada
Matissa Hollister: McGill University, Canada

Work, Employment & Society, 2024, vol. 38, issue 3, 657-683

Abstract: The literature on flexibilization documents the decline of the standard employment relationships, resulting in greater job insecurity. Consequently, the stability of career trajectories is expected to have decreased. However, existing studies in many countries pose a significant challenge: the available evidence shows no clear downward trend and possibly even an increase in job stability since the 1970s, as measured by trends in job tenure duration or job separations. This article highlights important limitations of such studies and provides novel evidence on the transformation of career trajectories. It is the first to provide evidence of a decrease in average job tenure duration for men in Canada and a decrease in five-year and 10-year retention rates over the four decades between 1976 and 2015, adjusting for sociodemographic shifts unrelated to flexibilization. We also find that average job tenure has increased for women, while their long-term job retention rates declined.

Keywords: careers; flexible work; job insecurity; job mobility; job stability; job tenure; precarious work; retention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:38:y:2024:i:3:p:657-683

DOI: 10.1177/09500170221146916

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