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The Potential of Recommender Systems for Directing Job Search: A Large-Scale Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Behaghel, Luc

    (Paris School of Economics)

  • Dromundo, Sofia

    (OECD)

  • Gurgand, Marc

    (Paris School of Economics)

  • Hazard, Yagan

    (Paris School of Economics)

  • Zuber, Thomas

    (Banque de France)

Abstract

We analyze the employment effects of directing job seekers' applications toward establishments likely to recruit. We run a two-sided randomization design involving about 800,000 job seekers and 40,000 establishments, based on an empirical model that recommends each job seeker to firms so as to maximize total potential employment. Our intervention induces a 1% increase in job finding rates for short term contracts. This impact comes from a targeting effect combining (i) a modest increase in job seekers' applications to the very firms that were recommended to them, and (ii) a high success rate conditional on applying to these firms. Indeed, the success rate of job seekers' applications varies considerably across firms: the efficiency of applications sent to recommended firms is 2.7 times higher than the efficiency of applications to the average firm. This suggests that there can be substantial gains from better targeting job search, leveraging firm-level heterogeneity.

Suggested Citation

  • Behaghel, Luc & Dromundo, Sofia & Gurgand, Marc & Hazard, Yagan & Zuber, Thomas, 2024. "The Potential of Recommender Systems for Directing Job Search: A Large-Scale Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 16781, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16781
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bas van der Klaauw & Heike Vethaak, 2022. "Empirical Evaluation of Broader Job Search Requirements for Unemployed Workers," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-083/V, Tinbergen Institute.
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    5. Peter Kuhn & Mikal Skuterud, 2004. "Internet Job Search and Unemployment Durations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 218-232, March.
    6. David H. Autor, 2001. "Wiring the Labor Market," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 25-40, Winter.
    7. Bruno Crépon & Esther Duflo & Marc Gurgand & Roland Rathelot & Philippe Zamora, 2013. "Do Labor Market Policies have Displacement Effects? Evidence from a Clustered Randomized Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(2), pages 531-580.
    8. Kircher, Philipp A.T., 2020. "Search design and online job search – new avenues for applied and experimental research," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    9. Steven J. Davis & R. Jason Faberman & John C. Haltiwanger, 2013. "The Establishment-Level Behavior of Vacancies and Hiring," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(2), pages 581-622.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jeremias Klaeui, 2026. "When to Broaden, When to Focus: Job Search and Market Tightness," CESifo Working Paper Series 12744, CESifo.
    2. Leduc, Elisabeth & Tojerow, Ilan, 2025. "Closing the Mismatch: Encouraging Jobseekers to Reskill for Shortage Occupations," IZA Discussion Papers 17731, IZA Network @ LISER.
    3. Thomas Le Barbanchon & Johannes F. Schmieder & Andrea Weber, 2024. "Job Search, Unemployment Insurance, and Active Labor Market Policies," NBER Working Papers 32720, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Nynke de Groot & Bas van der Klaauw, "undated". "A randomized experiment on improving job search skills of older unemployed workers," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 26-018/V, Tinbergen Institute, revised 21 May 2026.
    5. Nynke de Groot & Bas van der Klaauw, 2026. "A randomized experiment on improving job search skills of older unemployed workers," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 26132, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    6. Elisabeth Leduc & Ilan Tojerow, 2025. "Closing the Mismatch: Encouraging Jobseekers to Reskill for Shortage Occupations," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 25-014/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    7. Pascal Heß & Armando Miano, 2026. "Worker Beliefs about Occupational Mobility," CSEF Working Papers 792, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    8. Guillaume Bied & Philippe Caillou & Bruno Crépon & Christophe Gaillac & Elia Pérennes & Michèle Sebag, 2026. "A Job I Like or a Job I Can Get: Designing Job Recommender Systems Using Field Experiments," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 26091, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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