The Entry and Exit of Workers and the Growth of Employment: An Analysis of French Establishments

Using data that permit a distinction between flows of workers (directly measured) and job creation and destruction (again, directly measured), we develop employment and job flow statistics for a representative sample of French establishments from 1987 to 1990. Annual job creation can be characterized as hiring three persons and separating two for each job created in a given year. Annual job destruction can be characterized as hiring one person and separating two for each job destroyed in a given year. When an establishment is changing employment, the adjustment is made primarily by reducing entry and not by changing the separation rates. There is considerable simultaneous hiring and separation, even controlling for skill group. Two-thirds of all hiring is on short-term contracts, and more than half of all separations are due to the end of these short-term contracts.