Job Search during the COVID-19 Crisis

36 Pages Posted: 11 May 2020 Last revised: 5 Nov 2020

See all articles by Lena Hensvik

Lena Hensvik

IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation

Thomas Le Barbanchon

Bocconi university; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Roland Rathelot

University of Warwick

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: May 11, 2020

Abstract

This paper measures the job-search responses to the COVID-19 pandemic using realtime data on vacancy postings and job ad views on Sweden’s largest online job board. First, new vacancy postings drop by 40%, similar to the US. Second, job seekers respond by searching less intensively, to the extent that effective labour market tightness increases during the first three months after the COVID outbreak. Third, they redirect their search towards less severely hit occupations, beyond what changes in vacancies would predict. Overall, these job search responses have the potential to amplify the labour demand shock.

Keywords: coronavirus, search intensity, search direction, labour demand shock, job vacancies, online job board

JEL Classification: J22, J23, J21, J62, J63, J64, E24

Suggested Citation

Hensvik, Lena and Le Barbanchon, Thomas and Rathelot, Roland, Job Search during the COVID-19 Crisis (May 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3598126 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3598126

Lena Hensvik

IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation ( email )

Box 513
751 20 Uppsala
Sweden

Thomas Le Barbanchon (Contact Author)

Bocconi university ( email )

Via Sarfatti, 25
Milan, MI 20136
Italy

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Roland Rathelot

University of Warwick ( email )

Gibbet Hill Rd.
Coventry, CV4 8UW
United Kingdom

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