On-the-Job Search in Europe and the U.S.: Precautionary vs. Job Ladder Motives

António Dias da Silva () and Marco Weißler
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António Dias da Silva: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/research/authors/profiles/antonio-dias-da-silva.en.html

No 2026-015, Working Papers from Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Abstract: While employer-to-employer (E2E) transitions are by now well-documented, these data alone cannot reveal what drives mobility: who searches, why, and how search translates into transitions. Using novel panel data from the ECB and NY Fed consumer expectations surveys, we provide the first systematic cross-country analysis of on-the job search (OJS) and E2E transitions across eleven euro area countries and the U.S. Our data uniquely include direct measures of OJS and its motives (job loss expectations for precautionary, pay satisfaction for job ladder) for all workers, not just searchers. We find that OJS is widespread, making employed workers the majority of searchers, and it strongly predicts E2E transitions. Motives differ dramatically: precautionary search dominates in Europe, while the job ladder motive dominates in the U.S. OJS is highly persistent, with 40% continuing to search even after starting a new job.

Keywords: job search; expectations; labor market transitions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D84 J64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 69 pages
Date: 2026-06-30
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DOI: 10.20955/wp.2026.015

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