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Bransch, Felix (2021): Job search intensity of unemployed Workers and the business cycle. In: Economics Letters, Jg. 205, S. 1-4. DOI:10.1016/j.econlet.2021.109927

Abstract

"This paper provides empirical evidence for the cyclicality in the job search intensity of unemployed workers using data on job search behavior from the Dutch National Bank Household Survey (DHS), an annual panel survey, for the years 1993 until 2018. I find that job search intensity is counter-cyclical, adding to the mixed results of prior studies that mainly rely on data from the US. This finding is robust to using different measures of search intensity and business cycle indicators. The counter-cyclical pattern seems to be driven by changes in the composition of searchers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2021 Elsevier) ((en))

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Christoph, Bernhard & Torsten Lietzmann (2021): Will Accepting Less Bring Success? Job Related Concessions and Welfare Recipients in Germany. In: The social policy blog H. 22.06.2021.

Abstract

"It is often argued that in order to find new employment, the unemployed have to compromise and accept jobs that are inferior (e.g. paying less or requiring a lower qualification) than the jobs they held before becoming unemployed. Making such compromise to find new employment is what we call a job related concession. Our results show that while there might be some truth to this Assertion - in particular with regard to accepting lower paying Jobs - being generally flexible with regard to job search has comparably positive effects without requiring the unemployed to make such compromise. Therefore, we argue that enabling the unemployed to find new occupational perspectives - ideally in combination with training and qualification measures for the new occupation - should be at least as promising as requiring them to make job-related concessions." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Denzer, Manuel, Thorsten Schank & Richard Upward (2021): Does the internet increase the job finding rate? Evidence from a period of expansion in internet use. In: Information economics and policy, Jg. 55. DOI:10.1016/j.infoecopol.2020.100900

Abstract

"We examine the impact of household access to the internet on job finding rates in Germany during a period (2006–2009) in which the share of households with a broadband connection increased by 31 percentage points, and job-seekers increased their use of the internet as a search tool. During this period, household access to broadband internet was almost completely dependent on the availability of a particular technology (DSL). We therefore exploit the variation in DSL availability across municipalities as an instrument for household access to the internet. OLS estimates which control for differences in individual and local area characteristics suggest a job finding advantage of about six percentage points. The IV estimates are substantially larger, but much less precisely estimated. However, we cannot reject the hypothesis that, conditional on observables, residential computer access with internet was as good as randomly assigned with respect to the job finding rate. The hypothesis that residential internet access helped job-seekers find work because of its effect on the job search process is supported by the finding that residential internet access greatly increased the use of the internet as a search method. We find some evidence that household access to the internet reduced the use of traditional job search methods, but this effect is outweighed by the increase in internet-based search methods." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Engbom, Niklas (2021): Contagious Unemployment. (NBER working paper 28829), Cambridge, MA, 46, 24 S.

Abstract

"Recent micro evidence of how workers search for jobs is shown to have critical implications for the macroeconomic propagation of labor market shocks. Unemployed workers send over 10 times as many job applications in a month as their employed peers, but are less than half as likely per application to make a move. I interpret these patterns as the unemployed applying for more jobs that they are less likely to be a good fit for. During periods of high unemployment, it consequently becomes harder for firms to assert who is a good fit for the job. By raising the cost of recruiting, a short-lived adverse shock has a persistent negative impact on the job finding rate. I provide evidence that firms spend more time on recruiting when unemployment is high, quantitatively consistent with the theory." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Forsythe, Eliza & Russell Weinstein (2021): Recruiting Intensity, Hires, and Vacancies: Evidence from Firm-Level Data. (IZA discussion paper 14138), Bonn, 42 S.

Abstract

"We investigate employer recruiting behavior, using detailed firm-level data from a national survey of employers hiring recent college graduates. We show employers adjust recruiting effort, hiring standards, and compensation with the business cycle, beliefs about tightness, and their own hiring plans. We then show that firms expending greater recruiting effort hire more individuals per vacancy. The results suggest that when firms want to increase hires they adjust vacancies and recruiting intensity per vacancy, which may help explain the breakdown in the standard matching function during the Great Recession. Our measure of recruiting effort explains roughly 16% of the residual elasticity of the vacancy yield with respect to hires." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Galanakis, Yannis (2021): "Are you in the right job?" Human Capital Mismatch in the UK. (GLO discussion paper / Global Labor Organization 976), Essen, 58 S.

Abstract

"This paper examines a problem of worker misallocation into jobs. A theoretical model, allowing for heterogeneous workers and firms, shows that job search frictions generate mismatch between employees and employers. In the empirical analysis, the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), the UK household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) and British Cohort Study 1970 (BCS70) data are used to measure the incidence of mismatch, how it changes over time and whether it can be explained by unobserved ability. Results show that (i) the incidence of mismatch increases after the Great Recession. (ii) Individual transitions to/from matching take place due to workers' occupational mobility and over-time skills development. (iii) Employees can find better jobs or their mobility occurs earlier than the aggregate change of skills. (iv) Controlling for individual heterogeneity, measured by cognitive and non-cognitive skill test scores throughout childhood, does not decrease the incidence of mismatch. This suggests that unobserved productivity does not generate mismatch in the labour market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gorn, Alexey (2021): The role of headhunters in wage inequality: It's all about matching. In: Review of Economic Dynamics, Jg. 40, S. 309-346. DOI:10.1016/j.red.2020.10.006

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Gürtzgen, Nicole, Benjamin Lochner, Laura Pohlan & Gerard J. van den Berg (2021): Does Online Search Improve the Match Quality of New Hires? (IAB-Discussion Paper 02/2021), Nürnberg, 66 S.

Abstract

"Die Studie untersucht den Effekt der Expansion des Breitbandinternets auf die Matchqualität neu eingestellter Personen. Hierzu werden Daten zur regionalen Internetverfügbarkeit mit administrativen Individualdaten und Vakanzdaten für den deutschen Arbeitsmarkt kombiniert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass eine Ausweitung der Breitbandinternet-Verfügbarkeit keinen größeren Einfluss auf die Stabilität und Entlohnung neu begonnener Beschäftigungsverhältnisse hat. Diese Resultate werden auf Basis von Analysen mit Vakanzdaten bestätigt. Diese Daten erlauben einen expliziten Vergleich der Matchqualität von Personen, die online rekrutiert wurden, mit der Matchqualität von Personen, die über andere Rekrutierungskanäle eingestellt wurden. Weiterhin zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass Online-Rekrutierung nicht nur die Anzahl der Bewerbungen und den Anteil ungeeigneter Bewerbungen erhöht, sondern ebenfalls zu einer höheren Anzahl von Vakanzen führt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Hartl, Tobias, Christian Hutter & Enzo Weber (2021): Matching for three: big data evidence on search activity of workers, firms, and employment service. (IAB-Discussion Paper 01/2021), Nürnberg, 14 S.

Abstract

"Wir generieren Maße für die Suchintensität von Arbeitgebern und Arbeitssuchenden und zum ersten Mal - für die Vermittlungsintensität von Arbeitsagenturen. Zu diesem Zweck greifen wir auf Big Data zu Online-Aktivitäten aus der Online Jobbörse der Bundesagentur für Arbeit und ihrer internen Vermittlungssoftware zurück. Wir verwenden diese Daten, um eine erweiterte Matchingfunktion zu schätzen, bei der der Effizienzparameter mit den Such- und Vermittlungsintensitäten variiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass alle drei Intensitätsmaße erheblich zur Erklärung der Job-findings-Variation beitragen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Heller, Sara B. & Judd B. Kessler (2021): The Effects of Letters of Recommendation in the Youth Labor Market. (NBER working paper 29579), Cambridge, Mass, 43 S. DOI:10.3386/w29579

Abstract

"Youth employment has been near historic lows in recent years, and racial gaps persist. This paper tests whether information frictions limit young people's labor market success with a field experiment involving over 43,000 youth in New York City. We build software that allows employers to quickly and easily produce letters of recommendation for randomly selected youth who worked under their supervision during a summer youth employment program. We then send these letters to nearly 9,000 youth over two years. Being sent a letter generates a 3 percentage point (4.5 percent) increase in employment the following year, with both employment and earnings increases persisting over the two-year follow-up period. By posting our own job advertisement, we document that while treatment youth do use the letters in applications, there is no evidence of other supply-side responses (i.e., no increased job search, motivation, or confidence); effects appear to be driven by the demand side. Labor market benefits accrue primarily to racial and ethnic minorities, suggesting frictions may contribute to racial employment gaps. But improved employment may also hamper on-time high school graduation. Additional evidence indicates that letters help improve job match quality. Results suggest that expanding the availability of credible signals about young workers—particularly for those not on the margin of graduating high school—could improve the efficiency of the youth labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Hutter, Christian (2021): Cyclicality of labour market search: a new big data Approach. In: Journal for labour market research, Jg. 55, 2020-12-11. DOI:10.1186/s12651-020-00283-9

Abstract

"This paper exploits big data on online activity from the job exchange of the German Federal Employment Agency and its internal placement-software to generate measures for search activity of employers and job seekers and - as a novel feature - for placement activity of employment agencies. In addition, the average search perimeter in the job seekers’ search profiles can be measured. The data are used to estimate the behaviour of the search and placement activities during the business and labour market cycle and their seasonal patterns. The results show that the search activities of firms and employment agencies are procyclical. By contrast, job seekers’ search intensity shows a countercyclical pattern, at least before the COVID-19 crisis." (Author's abstract, © 2021 Springer) ((en))

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Kröll, Claudia, Stephan Nüesch & J. Nils Foege (2021): Flexible work practices and organizational attractiveness in Germany. The mediating role of anticipated organizational support. In: The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Jg. 32, H. 3, S. 543-572. DOI:10.1080/09585192.2018.1479876

Abstract

"This study analyzes how flexible work practices (FWPs) such as flexible work schedules, telecommuting, and sabbaticals affect the organizational attractiveness of companies to job seekers in the German job market. We apply conservation of resource theory to propose that FWPs are positively related to perceived organizational attractiveness. Furthermore, we use organizational support theory to suggest that this link is mediated by job seekers' anticipated organizational support. We test our predictions using two complementary studies among German job seekers: A field study (N = 188) at two job fairs and an online scenario experiment (N = 469). Our findings indicate that flexible work practices, in particular flexible work schedules and sabbaticals, significantly increase organizational attractiveness as perceived by job seekers and that these effects are indeed mediated by anticipated organizational support. Our results further suggest that this link is independent of job seekers' attitudes towards FWPs and that the effect of sabbaticals is stronger than the effect of either flexible work schedules or telecommuting." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kuhn, Moritz, Iourii Manovskii & Xincheng Qiu (2021): The Geography of Job Creation and Job Destruction. (ECONtribute discussion paper 122), Köln ; Bonn, 45, A-20 S.

Abstract

"Spatial differences in labor market performance are large and highly persistent. Using data from the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom, we document striking similarities in spatial differences in unemployment, vacancies, job finding, and job filling within each country. This robust set of facts guides and disciplines the development of a theory of local labor market performance. We find that a spatial version of a Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides model with endogenous separations and on-the-job search quantitatively accounts for all the documented empirical regularities. The model also quantitatively rationalizes why differences in job-separation rates have primary importance in inducing differences in unemployment across space while changes in the job-finding rate are the main driver in unemployment fluctuations over the business cycle." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Marinescu, Ioana & Daphne Skandalis (2021): Unemployment Insurance and Job Search Behavior. In: The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Jg. 136, H. 2, S. 887-931. DOI:10.1093/qje/qjaa037

Abstract

"How does unemployment insurance (UI) affect unemployed workers’ search behavior? Search models predict that until benefit exhaustion, UI depresses job search effort and increases reservation wages. Over an unemployment spell, search effort should increase up to benefit exhaustion and stay high thereafter. Meanwhile, reservation wages should decrease up to benefit exhaustion and stay low thereafter. To test these predictions, we link administrative registers to data on job search behavior from a major online job search platform in France. We follow over 400,000 workers, as long as they remain unemployed. We analyze the changes in search behavior around benefits exhaustion and take two steps to isolate the individual response to unemployment benefits. First, our longitudinal data allows us to correct for changes in sample composition over the spell. Second, we exploit data on workers eligible for 12–24 months of UI as well as workers ineligible for UI, to control for behavior changes over the unemployment spell that are independent of UI. Our results confirm the predictions of search models. We find that search effort (the number of job applications) increases by at least 50% during the year preceding benefits exhaustion and remains high thereafter. The target monthly wage decreases by at least 2.4% during the year preceding benefits exhaustion and remains low thereafter. In addition, we provide evidence for duration dependence: workers decrease the wage they target by 1.5% over each year of unemployment, irrespective of their UI status." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Michau, Jean-Baptiste (2021): On the provision of insurance against search-induced wage fluctuations. In: The Scandinavian journal of economics, Jg. 123, H. 1, S. 382-414. DOI:10.1111/sjoe.12401

Abstract

"Should workers be provided with insurance against search-induced wage fluctuations? To answer this question, I rely on numerical simulations of a model of on-the-job search and precautionary savings. The model is calibrated to low skilled workers in the U.S. The extent of insurance is determined by the degree of progressivity of a non-linear transfer schedule. The fundamental trade-off is that a more generous provision of insurance reduces incentives to search for better paying jobs, which increases the cost of providing insurance. I show that progressivity raises the search intensity of unemployed worker, which reduces the equilibrium rate of unemployment, but lowers the search intensity of employed job seekers, which reduces the output level. I also solve numerically for the optimal non-linear transfer schedule. The optimal policy is to provide little insurance up to a monthly income level of $1350, such as to preserve incentives to move up the wage ladder, and nearly full insurance above $1450. This policy reduces the standard deviation of labor income net of transfers by 34% and generates a consumption-equivalent welfare gain of 0.7%. The absence of private savings does not fundamentally change the shape of the optimal transfer function, but tilts the optimal policy towards more insurance, at the expense of a less efficient allocation of workers across jobs." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Sheehan, Patrick (2021): Unemployment Experts: Governing the Job Search in the New Economy. In: Work and occupations, Jg. 48, H. 4, S. 470-497. DOI:10.1177/07308884211003652

Abstract

"In recent years, sociologists have examined unemployment and job searching as important arenas in which workers are socialized to accept the terms of an increasingly precarious economy. While noting the importance of expert knowledge in manufacturing the consent of workers, research has largely overlooked the experts themselves that produce such knowledge. Who are these experts and what kinds of advice do they give? Drawing on interviews and ethnographic fieldwork conducted at three job search clubs, the author develops a three-fold typology of “unemployment experts”: Job Coaches present a technical diagnosis that centers mastery of job-hunting techniques; Self-help Gurus present a moral diagnosis focused on the job seeker’s attitude; and Skill-certifiers present a human capital diagnosis revolving around the job seeker’s productive capacities. By offering alternative diagnoses and remedies for unemployment, these experts give job seekers a sense of choice in interpreting their situation and acting in the labor market. However, the multiple discourses ultimately help to secure consent to precarious labor markets by drawing attention to a range of individual deficiencies within workers while obfuscating structural and relational explanations of unemployment. The author also finds that many unemployment experts themselves faced dislocations from professional careers and are making creative claims to expertise. By focusing on experts and their varied messages, this paper reveals how the victims of precarious work inadvertently help to legitimate the new employment regime." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Watermann, Henriette, Ulrike Fasbender & Ute-Christine Klehe (2021): Predicting the self-regulated job search of mature-aged job seekers: The use of elective selection, loss-based selection, optimization, and compensation strategies. In: Journal of vocational behavior, Jg. 128. DOI:10.1016/j.jvb.2021.103591

Abstract

"Job search is a demanding and often demotivating process, challenging job-seekers' self-regulation. Particularly, mature-aged job seekers face lower reemployment chances – and may benefit from strategies known from the lifespan literature. The current study examined whether and when the use of aging strategies (elective selection, loss-based selection, optimization, and compensation; SOC strategies) can support mature-aged job seekers in their self-regulated job search process (goal establishment and goal pursuit). We collected data from 659 mature-aged job seekers in three countries (Germany, United Kingdom, and United States) at four different times over two months. Results of multi-level modeling showed no support for gain-oriented strategies, namely elective selection (prioritizing one instead of multiple goals) and optimization (investing every effort to reach one's goal). In contrast, loss-oriented strategies, namely loss-based selection (prioritizing or selecting a new goal after a setback) and compensation (using new or previously unused means in the face of obstacles), supported mature-aged job seekers' goal establishment and goal pursuit. Moreover, with increasing age, mature-aged job seekers reported lower reemployment efficacy (the confidence to find a new job), which moderated the relation between compensation with goal pursuit. Compensation was particularly helpful for mature-aged job seekers' goal pursuit in weeks in which they reported lower (vs. higher) reemployment efficacy. These findings highlight the importance of loss-oriented aging strategies as beneficial coping strategies. With regard to practice, the present study speaks to the benefits of SOC strategies and points to the development of interventions targeted toward mature-aged job seekers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2021 Elsevier) ((en))

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Wozniak, Marcin (2021): Spatial matching on the urban labor market: estimates with unique micro data. In: Journal for labour market research, Jg. 55. DOI:10.1186/s12651-021-00293-1

Abstract

"In the paper, we investigate spatial relationship on the labor market of Poznań agglomeration (Poland) with unique data on job vacancies. We have developed spatial panel models to assess the search and matching process with a particular focus on spatial spillovers. In general, spatial models may provide different findings than regular panel models regarding returns to scale in matching technology. Moreover, we have identified global spillover effects as well as other factors that impact the job-worker matching. We underline the role of data on job vacancies: the data retrieved from commercial job portals produced much more reliable estimates than underestimated registered data." (Autorenreferat, © 2021 Springer Nature) ((en))

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Bauer, Anja, Kristin Keveloh, Mariano Mamertino & Enzo Weber (2020): Wie die Corona-Krise die Suchprozesse am Arbeitsmarkt beeinflusst (Serie "Corona-Krise: Folgen für den Arbeitsmarkt"). In: IAB-Forum H. 05.08.2020 Nürnberg, o. Sz., 2020-08-05.

Abstract

"Viele Branchen wurden von der Corona-Krise hart getroffen, andere nicht, einige konnten sogar profitieren. Damit ändert sich auch das Suchverhalten am Arbeitsmarkt. Dies zeigt eine Auswertung von Daten des beruflichen Netzwerkes." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Bauer, Anja, Kristin Keveloh, Mariano Mamertino & Enzo Weber (2020): Competing for jobs: How COVID-19 changes search behaviour in the labour market. (IAB-Discussion Paper 33/2020), Nürnberg, 21 S.

Abstract

"Bislang ist wenig darüber bekannt, wie die Coronakrise die Suchprozesse auf dem Arbeitsmarkt verändert hat. Durch eine Analyse von Daten aus dem beruflichen Netzwerk LinkedIn für Deutschland erhalten wir Erkenntnisse zu einer Veränderung der Konkurrenz am Arbeitsmarkt, einer Umverteilung von Bewerbungen und einer möglichen Verschiebung in Richtung niedrigerer Karrierestufen. Wir stellen fest, dass der Wettbewerb unter den Arbeitnehmern um Arbeitsplätze stark zugenommen hat. Die Daten lassen den Rückschluss zu, dass dies eher auf zusätzliche Arbeitssuchende als auf eine höhere Suchintensität zurückgeht. Darüber hinaus zeigen die LinkedIn-Daten, dass sich Personen aus von der Krise besonders betroffenen Branchen sehr viel häufiger bewerben und dass sich die Zielbranchen für Bewerbungen erheblich verschoben haben. Schließlich stellen wir fest, dass sich Personen während der Krise deutlich häufiger unterhalb und deutlich seltener oberhalb der eigenen Karrierestufe beworben haben." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)