Population turnover and churn: enhancing understanding of internal migration in Britain through measures of stability.

Abstract

Net migration measures take account of the direction of migration flows, but our understanding of migration can be extended using population turnover and churn as measures of population stability. Turnover is a measure of the intensity of migration into and out of a district, whereas churn incorporates these flows and also includes the flows that take place within each district. Using districts of Britain and their type-based groupings, the highest levels of turnover and churn are found in London and some of the more dynamic urban areas, whereas the lowest levels are found in rural and previously industrial areas. Age has a significant effect on these measures with the population in their late teens and early twenties being the least stable and older populations being more stable.