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Explaining the Employability Gap of Short-term and Long-term Unemployed Persons

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  • Thomsen, Stephan L.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the determinants of employability differences between short-term and long-term unemployed persons. Knowing these differences could help to address active labor market policy programs more adequately to the needs of the job-seekers in order to increase employment integration. Based on merged survey and register data differences in job finding chances of these groups are decomposed into a part due to differences in attributes and a part due to differences in valuing the attributes. The estimates clarify that current active labor market programs do not address important factors of employment. Particularly, health of the job seekers, limitations in the working ability and obstacles to employment comprising substance abuse, financial debts or care obligations for children or frail elderly play a significant role for successful placement. The conclusion is that policy makers should integrate these aspects in the placement process.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomsen, Stephan L., 2008. "Explaining the Employability Gap of Short-term and Long-term Unemployed Persons," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-062, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:7385
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    Cited by:

    1. Sabine Klinger & Thomas Rothe, 2012. "The Impact of Labour Market Reforms and Economic Performance on the Matching of the Short‐term and the Long‐term Unemployed," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 59(1), pages 90-114, February.
    2. Sergio Firpo & Sandro Carvalho & Renan Pieri, 2016. "Using occupational structure to measure employability with an application to the Brazilian labor market," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 14(1), pages 1-19, March.
    3. Vom Berge, Philipp & Klingert, Isabell & Becker, Sebastian & Lenhart, Julia & Trenkle, Simon & Umkehrer, Matthias, 2016. "Mindestlohnbegleitforschung - Überprüfung der Ausnahmeregelung für Langzeitarbeitslose : Forschungsauftrag des Bundesministeriums für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS)," IAB-Forschungsbericht 201608, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    4. Klingert, Isabell & Lenhart, Julia & Büschel, Ulrike & Daumann, Volker & Strien, Karsten, 2017. "Jobcenter-Strategien zur Arbeitsmarktintegration von Langzeitarbeitslosen," IAB-Forschungsbericht 201703, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    5. Tisch, Anita, 2015. "The employability of older job-seekers: Evidence from Germany," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 6(C), pages 102-112.
    6. Martijn A Wijnhoven & Harriët Havinga, 2014. "The Work Profiler: A digital instrument for selection and diagnosis of the unemployed," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 29(6-7), pages 740-749, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    unemployment; employability; active labor market policy; decomposition; Germany;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • C50 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - General
    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy

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