This report examines various dynamic aspects of the Nation’s labor force during the 1991-93 period. Although much of this period of time was characterized by weak employment growth and high levels of unemployment, millions of persons continued to move into and out of the labor force and between jobs. Statistics reflecting these movements can provide important insights into the operation of this country’s labor market and supplement more traditional measures of employment, unemployment, wages, and so on.

The data in this report were collected in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), a longitudinal survey which follows the same persons over a period of time. Most of the data discussed here were obtained from the 1991 panel of SIPP and relate to the labor market activities of persons during the October 1990 to August 1993 period.

Previous reports from the SIPP (the most recent covering the 1990-92 period) have also dealt with the dynamic aspects of the labor force.¹ In this report, attention is focused on spells of unemployment, earnings on new jobs, and changes in health insurance status related to persons job transitions in the 1991-93 period. A concluding section examines the labor turnover process during 1991.

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¹ See Dynamics of Economic Well-Bing: Labor Force and Income, 1990 to 1992, Current Population Reports, Household Economic Studies, Series P70-40, November 1994; Job Creation During the Late 1980’s: Dynamic Aspects of Employment Growth, Current Population Reports, Household Economic Studies, Series P70-27, January 1992; and Spells of Job Search and Layoff… and Their Outcomes, Current Population Reports, Household Economic Studies, Series P70-16, RD-2, July 1989.