Advising Job Seekers in Occupations with Poor Prospects: A Field Experiment

Michèle Belot (), Bart K. de Koning (), Didier Fouarge, Philipp Kircher (), Paul Muller () and Sandra Philippen
Additional contact information
Michèle Belot: Cornell University
Bart K. de Koning: Cornell University
Philipp Kircher: Cornell University
Paul Muller: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Sandra Philippen: University of Groningen

No 17905, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We study the impact of online information provision to unemployed job seekers who are looking for work in occupations in slack markets, i.e. with only few vacancies per job seeker. Job seekers received suggestions about suitable alternative occupations, and how the prospects of these alternatives compare to their current occupation of interest. Some additionally received a link to a motivational video. We evaluate the interventions using a randomized field experiment covering all eligible job seekers registered to search in the target occupations. The vast majority of treated job seekers open the message revealing the alternative suggestions. The motivational video is rarely watched. Effects on unemployed job seekers in structurally poor labor markets are large: their employment, hours of work and labor income all improve by 5% to 6% after 18 months. Additional survey evidence shows that treated job seekers find employment in more diverse occupations.

Keywords: information treatment; randomized experiment; occupational mobility; job search (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 J62 J63 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-05
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Working Paper: Advising Job Seekers in Occupations with Poor Prospects: A Field Experiment (2025)
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