Job search during the COVID-19 crisis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104349Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • In Sweden, new vacancy postings drop by 40% during the 3 months after the COVID-19 outbreak.

  • Job seekers decreases their search intensity by 15% during the 3 months after the COVID-19 outbreak.

  • Vacancy-level tightness increases by 25% during the 3 months after the COVID-19 outbreak.

  • Job seekers redirect their search towards less severely hit occupations.

Abstract

This paper measures the job-search responses to the COVID-19 pandemic using real-time 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.

JEL codes

J22
J23
J21
J62
J63
J64
E24

Keywords

Coronavirus
Search intensity
Search direction
Labour demand shock
Job vacancies
Online job board

Cited by (0)

We would like to thank Arbetsförmedlingen for making the data available, Manuel Bagues, Tito Boeri, Christine Braun, Pierre Cahuc, Pascal Michaillat, Thijs van Rens as well as participants at Bocconi, Erasmus School of Economics, Glasgow, ICEF, Lugano, PSE, Warwick, OECD, Strathclyde e-seminars for helpful comments. We thank co-editor Johannes Spinnewijn and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the ERC StG 758190 ”ESEARCH”. Lena Hensvik received financial support from Forte and IFAU. Ana Teles provided excellent research assistance. All errors are our own. Hensvik is also affiliated with IFAU, CEPR, Le Barbanchon with CEPR, IGIER, IZA, J-PAL, Rathelot with CAGE, CEPR, J-PAL.