Job Search Behavior among the Employed and Non-Employed

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 about four times more efficient than the unemployed in job search; and (3) the employed receive better job offers than the unemployed. We set up an on-the-job search model 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 job separation and matching efficiency shocks over the business cycle.

Efficiency and Labor Market Dynamics in a Model of Labor Selection

“…According to Faberman et al. (, table 8), the number of offers per week of search (conditional on those actively searching for a job) is 17%.…”

“…Faberman et al. () use a recent supplement to the Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE), administered monthly by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.…”

“…According to Faberman et al. (), it would on average take 1/0.17 = 5.9 weeks to obtain a job offer. According to Holzer (), it would on average take 1/0.34 = 2.9 months to obtain a job offer.…”

“…Holzer (1987) argues that (despite the focus on young workers) the survey is very suitable for the analysis of search behavior. Faberman et al (2015) use a recent supplement to the Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE), administered monthly by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.…”

“…According to Blau and Robins' (1990) numbers, it would on average take 1/0.18 = 5.6 weeks to obtain a job offer. According to Faberman et al (2015), it would on average take 1/0.17 = 5.9 weeks to obtain a job offer. According to Holzer (1987), it would on average take 1/0.34 = 2.9 months to obtain a job offer.…”