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Mismatch Unemployment

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  • Violante, Giovanni
  • Topa, Giorgio
  • Sahin, Aysegul
  • Song, Joseph

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 U.S. unemployment by exploiting two sources of cross-sectional data on vacancies, JOLTS and HWOL, a new database covering the universe of onlineU.S. job advertisements. Mismatch across industries and occupations explains at most 1/3 of the total observed increase in the unemployment rate, whereas geographical mismatch plays no apparent role. The share of the rise in unemployment explained by occupational mismatch is increasing in the education level.

Suggested Citation

  • Violante, Giovanni & Topa, Giorgio & Sahin, Aysegul & Song, Joseph, 2012. "Mismatch Unemployment," CEPR Discussion Papers 9093, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9093
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Great recession; Mismatch; Unemployment; Vacancies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E3 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers

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