ABSTRACT
The basic purpose of this book is to develop the concept of the internal labor market and to demonstrate some of the ways in which it can be usefully applied to various areas of concern for Federal manpower policy. Part I emphasizes that internal labor markets are the critical units within which decisions are made with respect to employment, wage determination, and training. In seeking to understand the operation of the internal labor market, the principal concern has been with the formal and informal processes governing the employment relationship, and with the various forces which influence them. The availability of workers on the external labor market, the type of technology, the costs of turnover to the employer, the value of the internal labor market to the internal work force, product market considerations, and customs were identified as key factors influencing internal manpower decisions. These decisions, when aggregated, become a major factor determining the structure of wages, the level and composition of employment, and the job content of the economy.
