Mismatch unemployment

Ayşegül Şahin, Joseph Song, Giorgio Topa, Giovanni L. Violante

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

134 Scopus citations

Abstract

We develop a framework where mismatch between vacancies and job seekers across sectors translates into higher unemployment by lowering the aggregate job-finding rate. We use this framework to measure the contribution of mismatch to the recent rise in US unemployment by exploiting two sources of cross-sectional data on vacancies, JOLTS and HWOL. Our calculations indicate that mismatch, across industries and three-digit occupations, explains at most one-third of the total observed increase in the unemployment rate. Occupational mismatch has become especially more severe for college graduates, and in the West of the United States. Geographical mismatch unemployment plays no apparent role.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3529-3564
Number of pages36
JournalAmerican Economic Review
Volume104
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2014
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Economics and Econometrics

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