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Directed Search, Wages, and Non-wage Amenities: Evidence from an Online Job Board

Author

Listed:
  • Escudero, Veronica

    (ILO International Labour Organization)

  • Liepmann, Hannah

    (ILO International Labour Organization)

  • Vergara, Damian

    (University of Michigan)

Abstract

We leverage rich data from a prominent online job board in Uruguay to assess directed search patterns in job applications, focusing on posted wages and advertised non-wage amenities. We find robust evidence of directed search based on posted wages in the cross-section, with stark heterogeneity by occupation: the wage-application correlation is driven by vacancies attached to lower-skill occupations, with applications to vacancies attached to higher-skill occupations showing no responsiveness to posted wages. By applying text analysis to the job ads, we elicit advertised non-wage amenities and find evidence of directed search based on non-wage amenities. Applications to vacancies attached to lower-skill occupations are consistent with lexicographic application preferences: amenities predict applications to these vacancies only when wages are not posted. Finally, we exploit industry-by-occupation minimum wage variation to demonstrate that the observed occupational heterogeneity in directed search patterns is supported by quasi-experimental difference-in-differences estimates of the impact of wages on job applications.

Suggested Citation

  • Escudero, Veronica & Liepmann, Hannah & Vergara, Damian, 2024. "Directed Search, Wages, and Non-wage Amenities: Evidence from an Online Job Board," IZA Discussion Papers 17211, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17211
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Suguru Otani, 2024. "Nonparametric Estimation of Matching Efficiency and Elasticity on a Private On-the-Job Search Platform: Evidence from Japan, 2014-2024," Papers 2410.17011, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2025.
    2. Patrick M. Kline, 2025. "Labor Market Monopsony: Fundamentals and Frontiers," NBER Working Papers 33467, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    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
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • 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

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