How Do Caseworkers Affect Job Search Outcomes?

Lennart Ziegler ()
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Lennart Ziegler: University of Vienna

No 18094, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper examines how caseworkers influence job finding rates and job quality. To rule out selection effects, I exploit that caseworkers are assigned based on the jobseekers’ month of birth in some offices of the Austrian public employment service. Combining administrative data on caseworkers and jobseekers, I compute value-added measures for multiple jobseeker outcomes. A one-standard-deviation increase in caseworker performance corresponds to six additional days of employment in the first year and two percent higher earnings. For older workers and workers of foreign nationality, I observe the largest differences in caseworker performance. Employment and earnings effects are positively correlated, suggesting that faster job finding does not come at the expense of job quality. Analyzing differences in caseworker strategies, I find that caseworkers who refer more vacancies to jobseekers achieve higher employment rates, and those who refer better-paying jobs also achieve higher earnings. In contrast, frequent use of training programs or benefit sanctions is associated with worse job search outcomes.

Keywords: job search assistance; caseworkers; unemployment; vacancy referrals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J31 J64 J68 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur and nep-lab
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