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Building sectoral job search indices for the United States

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  • Pan, Wei-Fong

Abstract

This study investigates job search activity in the United States by constructing a set of sectoral job search activity indices based on Internet search volumes. The indices are positively associated with countercyclical labour market measures, including unemployment and layoff rates, but are negatively associated with procyclical measures. Overall, our evidence supports previous empirical findings – job search intensity is countercyclical – which contradicts the theoretical model’s prediction.

Suggested Citation

  • Pan, Wei-Fong, 2019. "Building sectoral job search indices for the United States," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 89-93.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:180:y:2019:i:c:p:89-93
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2019.04.019
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hie Joo Ahn & Ling Shao, 2017. "Precautionary On-the-Job Search over the Business Cycle," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2017-025, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
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    10. Gomme, Paul & Lkhagvasuren, Damba, 2015. "Worker search effort as an amplification mechanism," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 106-122.
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    Cited by:

    1. Matthias S. Hertweck & Vivien Lewis & Stefania Villa, 2021. "Going the Extra Mile: Effort by Workers and Job‐Seekers," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 53(8), pages 2099-2127, December.
    2. Wei‐Fong Pan & James Reade & Shixuan Wang, 2022. "Measuring US regional economic uncertainty," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 1149-1178, September.
    3. Bransch, Felix, 2021. "Job search intensity of unemployed workers and the business cycle," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    4. Yuki Uemura, 2022. "Job Search Intensity and Wage Rigidity in Business Cycles," KIER Working Papers 1078, Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Job search activity index; Countercyclical measures; Business cycle; Google trends;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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