June 2024

IZA DP No. 17048: Unemployed Job Search across People and over Time: Evidence from Applied-for Jobs

published in: Journal of Labor Economics, 2024, 42 (2), 1175–1217

Using data on applied-for jobs for the universe of Danish UI recipients, we examine variation in job search behavior both across individuals and over time during unemployment spells. We find large differences in the level of applied-for wages across individuals but over time all individuals adjust wages downward in the same way. The decline in applied-for wages over time is descriptively small but economically important in standard models of job search. We find similar results when examining variation in the non-wage characteristics of applied-for jobs and in the search methods used to find them. We discuss implications for theory.

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