The reallocation of labour and the lifecycle of firms

This paper uses a unique US panel dataset of firms and workers to investiga te the relationship between the firm's lifecycle and the reallocation of la bour. We distinguish labour reallocation associated with job reallocation, and reallocation of workers over a fixed configuration of jobs. We find tha t firms at the beginning and end of their life cycles contribute disproport ionately to labour market flows, with sorting between firms particularly im portant among young firms, whereas sorting within firms is more important a mong mature firms. We also find that high churning flows are associated wit h a lower probability of a young firm surviving.