Care Workers and Mobility: An Exploratory Analysis of the Effects of Job Changes on Wages

Much of the literature on care workers focuses on issues of retention and recruitment, which are especially important to those concerned with the long-term care industry. On the other hand, researchers who study low-wage workers emphasize the barriers these workers face in escaping low earnings by remaining in low-wage industries and firms that offer a low wage premium. Despite this tension, not enough is known about how workers fare when they leave (or stay in) care work. The main questions I seek to answer are the following: What is the relationship between different job and occupational mobility patterns and wage growth for individuals employed as nurse aides? Do some kinds of transitions offer workers employed as nurse aides better opportunities to escape low wages? Are some types of workers more likely to make certain kinds of transitions than others? The findings illustrate the importance of looking at occupation-specific work trajectories and comparing different groups of workers to explain wage outcomes for workers, as well as to better understand their labor market " behavior. " iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Ted Mouw, Catherine Zimmer, and Philip Cohen for their guidance throughout the duration of this project, and for encouraging me to pursue my interest in this topic. I especially extend my gratitude to Catherine Zimmer for kindly answering my questions and motivating me at difficult points throughout my work. I appreciate Ted Mouw's assistance with data issues and his advice on research design.