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Job Search Intensity of the Long-Term Unemployed: Evidence from a Panel of Southeast Montreal Workers

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Author Info
Pierre Fortin () (Center for Research on Economic Fluctuations and Employment, UQAM)
Simon Prevost (Center for Research on Economic Fluctuations and Employment, UQAM)

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Abstract

This study draws on a panel of Southeast Montreal workers to shed light on the intensity of job search effort among the long-term unemployed. Three specific questions are addresses: 1) how long exactly does it takes them to quit searching, 2) how does their job search intensity evolve over time between start and finish, and 3) how it is affected by household wealth and income support programs? Four conclusions are reached. First, job search intensity does not seem responsive to declining wealth in the course of the unemployment spell. Second, unemployment insurance eligibility has little effect on search intensity except when the exhaustion deadline is close. Third, the passage to social assistance makes search markedly more intense. Fourth, the time shape of search intensity for the typical unemployed worker is characteristically concave. After a slow start, search intensity rises in steps to reach a peak in the 15th month. Then, over the following 9 to 12 months, it drops steadily to about its starting level. A number of policy implications are discussed.

L'effort de recherche des chômeurs de long terme est examiné au moyen d'un échantillon longitudinal de travailleurs en chômage du sud-est de Montréal. Trois questions précises sont posées: 1) après combien de temps les chômeurs finissent- ils par abandonner la recherche d'un emploi, 2) comment leur effort de recherche évolue au cours de leur période de chômage, 3) comment la richesse de ménage d'appartenance et les programmes de soutien au revenu influent sur son intensité. Quatre conclusions ressortent de l'analyse. Premièrement, l'intensité de l'effort de recherche d'emploi réagit peu à la baisse progressive de la richesse du ménage. Deuxièmement, l'admissibilité à l'assurance-chômage n'a guère d'effet non plus sur cette intensité, sauf à la limite d'épuisement des prestations. Troisièmement, le passage à l'aide sociale s'accompagne d'une plus forte intensité de recherche. Quatrièmement, la trajectoire de l'intensité de recherche du chômeur moyen a une forme concave. Elle débute lentement, puis augmente par paliers pour atteindre un sommet au bout de 15 mois. Elle retombe finalement à son niveau de départ au cours des 9 à 12 mois suivants. Quelques enseignements sont tirés de ces résultats pour la politique économique.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by CREFE, Université du Québec à Montréal in its series Cahiers de recherche CREFE / CREFE Working Papers with number 22.

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Length: 18 pages
Date of creation: Oct 1993
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cre:crefwp:22

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Related research
Keywords: Job search effort; long-term unemployed; Montreal;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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This page was last updated on 2009-12-28.


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