Job Search Behavior Among the Employed and Non‐Employed

R. Jason Faberman; Andreas I. Mueller; Aysegul Sahin; Giorgio Topa

doi:10.3982/ecta18582

journal article Jan 01, 2022

Job Search Behavior Among the Employed and Non‐Employed

R. Jason Faberman Andreas I. Mueller Aysegul Sahin

Giorgio Topa

Econometrica Vol. 90 No. 4 pp. 1743-1779 · JSTOR

View at Publisher Save 10.3982/ecta18582

Abstract

We develop a unique survey that focuses on the job search behavior of individuals regardless of their labor force status and field it annually starting in 2013. We use our survey to study the relationship between search effort and outcomes for the employed and non‐employed. Three important facts stand out: (1) on‐the‐job search is pervasive, and is more intense at the lower rungs of the job ladder; (2) the employed are at least three times more effective than the unemployed in job search; and (3) the employed receive better job offers than the unemployed. We set up a general equilibrium model of on‐the‐job search with endogenous search effort, calibrate it to fit our new facts, and find that the search effort of the employed is highly elastic. We show that search effort substantially amplifies labor market responses to productivity shocks over the business cycle.

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Details

Published: Jan 01, 2022
Vol/Issue: 90(4)
Pages: 1743-1779

Authors

R

R. Jason Faberman

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

A

Andreas I. Mueller

Department of Economics, The University of Texas at Austin; NBER; CEPR; IZA

A

Aysegul Sahin

Department of Economics, The University of Texas at Austin; NBER

G

Giorgio Topa

Federal Reserve Bank of New York; IZA

Cite This Article

R. Jason Faberman, Andreas I. Mueller, Aysegul Sahin, et al. (2022). Job Search Behavior Among the Employed and Non‐Employed. Econometrica, 90(4), 1743-1779. https://doi.org/10.3982/ecta18582

Job Search Behavior Among the Employed and Non‐Employed

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