procedures for consistency with the assumptions made in PBLAST, the public assistance simulation routine, which precedes ALLOY in the MATH model run stream.3
HITSM
This model first determines the duration of jobs held and spells of unemployment during the year. Individuals who reported one job are assigned one continuous period of employment lasting the reported number of weeks worked. Individuals who reported more than one job have their weeks worked on each job estimated by using a random process. Similarly, individuals reporting one unemployment spell are assigned one continuous period of unemployment lasting the reported number of weeks unemployed. Individuals who reported more than one unemployment spell have their weeks unemployed in each spell estimated by using a random process.
The next step is to distribute jobs and unemployment spells over the year. The assumption is made for individuals reporting more spells of unemployment than jobs that each job was preceded and followed by at least one period of unemployment; periods of unemployment and employment are randomly ordered accordingly. The assumption is made for individuals reporting the same number of unemployment spells as jobs that periods of employment and unemployment alternate.
The next step is to distribute weeks not in the labor force. Individuals who were students at the beginning or end of the year (i.e., January and December) have their weeks out of the labor force assigned to the beginning or end of the year in accordance with their student status.4 People with periods of unemployment not separated by a job (e.g., one job held in the year with three spells of unemployment) have their weeks out of the labor force assigned between these unemployment periods; other people who experienced unemployment have their weeks out of the labor force assigned at either the beginning or the end of each spell of unemployment, with the number of weeks out of the labor force associated with each unemployment spell determined by using a random process. People who were never unemployed have all of their weeks out of the labor force assigned to a single period at the end of the year if the individual did not hold a job at that time and otherwise at the start of
