The Direct and Indirect Effects of Online Job Search Advice

Steffen Altmann, Anita Glenny, Robert Mahlstedt, Alexander Sebald

Abstract:

We study how online job search advice affects the job search behavior and labor market outcomes of unemployed workers. In a large-scale field experiment, we provide job seekers with vacancy information and occupational recommendations through an online dashboard. A two-stage randomized design with regionally varying treatment intensities allows us to account for treatment spillovers. Our results show that online advice is highly effective and significantly increases job seekers' working hours and labor earnings when the share of treated workers is relatively low. At the same time, we find substantial negative spillovers on other treated job seekers for higher treatment intensities, resulting from increased competition between treated job seekers who apply to the same vacancies. The negative indirect effects completely offset the positive direct effects of search advice when approaching a full roll-out.