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Perceived Unemployment Risks over Business Cycles

Author

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  • William Du
  • Adrian Monninger
  • Xincheng Qiu
  • Tao Wang

Abstract

We backcast subjective expectations on job finding and separation in the Survey of Consumer Expectations to 1978, and use real-time machine learning forecasting to proxy their objective counterparts. We document stickiness in job finding and separation expectations in reflecting changes in real-time job finding and separation risks and their substantial heterogeneity across observable and unobservable dimensions. Calibrating these facts into a heterogeneous-agent consumption-saving model reveals that belief stickiness attenuates the precautionary saving channel. As a result, workers under-insure during recessions, leading to a more sluggish recovery afterwards. The combination of high risk exposure and under-insurance due to belief stickiness operates as a novel amplification mechanism over the business cycle.

Suggested Citation

  • William Du & Adrian Monninger & Xincheng Qiu & Tao Wang, 2025. "Perceived Unemployment Risks over Business Cycles," Staff Working Papers 25-23, Bank of Canada.
    • Handle: RePEc:bca:bocawp:25-23
    DOI: 10.34989/swp-2025-23
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    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E71 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on the Macro Economy
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth

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