Americans Cling to Jobs as U.S. Workforce Dynamism Fades

After 4 1/2 months of meetings, interviews and hand-holding, personnel recruiter William Rowe thought he had sealed the deal.

The senior executive of a major corporation Rowe had been courting finally agreed to take a top post at a venture capital-backed technology firm in California. Then four days after giving notice, the executive, who is in his 40s, had second thoughts about leaving the security of his company and returned to his old job.