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Spanish labour market, mobility and labour shortages

Author

Listed:
  • Carrillo-Tudela, Carlos
  • Clymo, Alex
  • La Fuente, Cristina
  • Visschers, Lodewijk Pieter
  • Zentler-Munro, David

Abstract

We use a simple yet powerful approach to investigate the dynamics of worker flows across sectors in the Spanish economy. The method imposes a minimal amount of structure on the data by assuming sector-specific matching functions, and backs out the direction of workers’ search intensities across sectors using data on realised worker flows and vacancies.We find that aggregate search intensity in Spain has been increasing since the pandemic and has led aggregate labour shortages to be below pre-pandemic levels by 2023. However, this boost of search intensity is directed to industries with low matching efficiencies and job finding rates. As a result, aggregate match formation is near to a 10-years low relative to the number of matches that would result if search intensity was allocated to maximise total matches given the observed vacancy distribution and match efficiencies across sectors.

Suggested Citation

  • Carrillo-Tudela, Carlos & Clymo, Alex & La Fuente, Cristina & Visschers, Lodewijk Pieter & Zentler-Munro, David, 2025. "Spanish labour market, mobility and labour shortages," UC3M Working papers. Economics 46538, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía.
    • Handle: RePEc:cte:werepe:46538
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Patterson, Christina & Şahin, Ayşegül & Topa, Giorgio & Violante, Giovanni L., 2016. "Working hard in the wrong place: A mismatch-based explanation to the UK productivity puzzle," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 42-56.
    2. Elsby, Michael W.L. & Hobijn, Bart & Şahin, Ayşegül, 2015. "On the importance of the participation margin for labor market fluctuations," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 64-82.
    3. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/4l136f59vb8mcalu5p6p5li007 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Grégory Jolivet & Fabien Postel-Vinay, 2013. "Accounting for Endogeneity in Matching Function Estimation," SciencePo Working papers hal-03473875, HAL.
    5. Cortes, Guido Matias & Jaimovich, Nir & Nekarda, Christopher J. & Siu, Henry E., 2020. "The dynamics of disappearing routine jobs: A flows approach," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    6. Toshihiko Mukoyama & Christina Patterson & Ayşegül Şahin, 2018. "Job Search Behavior over the Business Cycle," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 190-215, January.
    7. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Gregory Jolivet & Fabien Postel-Vinay, 2013. "Accounting For Endogeneity in Matching Function Estimation," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 16(3), pages 440-451, July.
    8. Carrillo-Tudela, Carlos & Hobijn, Bart & She, Powen & Visschers, Ludo, 2016. "The extent and cyclicality of career changes: Evidence for the U.K," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 18-41.
    9. Monica Costa Dias & Ella Johnson-Watts & Robert Joyce & Fabien Postel-Vinay & Peter Spittal & Xiaowei Xu, 2021. "Worker mobility and labour market opportunities," IFS Working Papers W21/29, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    10. Carlos Carrillo‐Tudela & Ludo Visschers, 2023. "Unemployment and Endogenous Reallocation Over the Business Cycle," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 91(3), pages 1119-1153, May.
    11. Stephen R. G. Jones & W. Craig Riddell, 1999. "The Measurement of Unemployment: An Empirical Approach," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(1), pages 147-162, January.
    12. Diaz, Antonia & Dolado, Juan J. & Jáñez, Álvaro & Wellschmied, Felix, 2025. "Labor reallocation effects of furlough schemes: Evidence from two recessions in Spain," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    13. Wasmer, Etienne & Zenou, Yves, 2006. "Equilibrium search unemployment with explicit spatial frictions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 143-165, April.
    14. Carrillo-Tudela, Carlos & Clymo, Alex & Comunello, Camila & Jäckle, Annette & Visschers, Ludo & Zentler-Munro, David, 2023. "Search and reallocation in the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from the UK," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
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    Cited by:

    1. Nezih Guner & Juan F. Jimeno, 2025. "Labor markets, productivity, and the Spanish economy: insights from the 2024 BdE–CEMFI–UIMP conference," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 16(2), pages 229-232, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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