Leiden, Netherlands, 21 January 2026 – A new SkiLMeeT paper, Occupational mobility, wages and worker well-being is out, exploring how workers move between jobs and occupations across European labour markets and what these transitions mean for people’s careers.
The study uses EU-SILC microdata for 18 European countries and focuses on the period 2011–2018. Rather than treating mobility as uniformly positive, the paper examines when and for whom changing jobs or occupations is associated with better outcomes – and when it may come with higher risks.
The results show that occupational mobility in Europe is substantial and varies strongly across countries. On average, around 6% of workers change jobs each year, while about 3% switch occupations. Occupational mobility also differs strongly across socioeconomic groups, with women, low-skilled workers, and older workers being much less mobile than men, medium-skilled workers, and younger workers, respectively. These differences in occupational mobility between socio-economic groups are mirrored by differences in wage mobility.
Ronald Bachmann, Laetitia Hauret, Ludivine Martin, and Thu Uyen Nguyen-Thi (2025). Occupational mobility, wages and worker well-being, SkiLMeeT Deliverable D5.1
Read the paper here.
