Unemployment, Underemployment, and Employment Opportunities: Results from a Correspondence Audit of the Labor Market for College Graduates

John Nunley (), Adam Pugh, Nicholas Romero and Richard Seals ()

No auwp2014-04, Auburn Economics Working Paper Series from Department of Economics, Auburn University

Abstract: We conduct a résumé audit to estimate the impact of unemployment and underemployment on the employment prospects facing recent college graduates. We find no evidence that employers use current or past unemployment spells, regardless of their length, to inform hiring decisions. By contrast, college graduates who became underemployed after graduation receive about 15-30 percent fewer interview requests than job seekers who became “adequately” employed after graduation. Internship experience obtained while completing one's degree reduces the negative effects of underemployment substantially.

Keywords: College Major; Underemployment; Unemployment; Duration Dependence; Employment Opportunities; Internships; Labor Demand; Field Experiments; Correspondence Studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J23 J24 J64 J70 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-acc, nep-ger and nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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