Modeling Job Search and Matching with Panel Data on Vacancies and Applications

About this event

We analyze data from a large firm that provided information on all job applications and labor market outcomes within the firm over a 5-year period. The data show that African Americans and women engage in more overt job search activity within the organization than Caucasian males, attain shorter tenure on each job, and experience slower wage growth. Furthermore, differences emerge across race and gender at each stage of the application process: African Americans are more likely to apply for positions requiring qualifications they lack, and both African Americans and women are more likely to withdraw from the application process. African Americans are also less likely to be interviewed for a position. However, conditional on being interviewed, the probability of being hired does not vary by gender or race.