A new study from the London School of Economics and Political Science looks at the relationship between job searching, online job search tools and job market conditions.
The research is based on interviews with nearly 500,000 people aged 16-49 from the UK’s job market, and finds that job search is a major driver of job market changes.
The study, which was published in the journal Job, looked at changes in the UK job market in the years before the recession.
What was really different about the data?
The UK job search data included both full-time and part-time job search, but did not distinguish between full- and part time jobs.
Full-time jobs tend to require more experience, and part jobs can be harder to find, so the study looked only at full- or part- time jobs that require at least six months of work experience.
It also looked at the proportion of full-timers who were self-employed, rather than employed full- time, as well as whether the person in the survey was a student or an adult.
“We found that there was an overall positive relationship between the amount of full time job searching and job markets,” lead author Dr James Wilson, from the School of Social Science and Political Studies, said in a statement.
“This suggests that the increased role of online job searches may be having an impact on job market outcomes.”
For example, full-timer respondents who had searched for full-term jobs were much more likely to have an interview with a job search site than those who had only searched for part-timer jobs.
“The main reason for the positive relationship is that full-times are more likely than part-times to have a high level of education,” Dr Wilson said.
“However, we also found that those who search for part time are more at risk of being unemployed because they have a low level of self-employment.”
Full-timist job searches in the year before the downturn showed a greater degree of variation across industries.
“These results show that while there is some positive trend in job search patterns in the last two years, there is a large variation in job searching patterns between industries,” Dr. Wilson added.
What does this mean for employers?
It is not just job search that is different in the new study.
“In our analysis, full time and part times were both associated with higher job market satisfaction, but full time searches are also associated with a higher likelihood of being employed full time,” Dr Hamilton said.
The majority of full timers surveyed said they were able to find a job, with some being able to get jobs that match their qualifications and skills.
Full time job searches were more likely and more stable in terms of how many months of experience were needed, and this was more likely among part-timer jobs.
However, the difference in the level of experience between full and part timers was not as large as in the overall analysis.
“As more full-somers and part people start looking for full time jobs, the unemployment rate will increase,” Dr Williams added.
“Part-timing people may have a lower unemployment rate than full-person workers, but that will depend on their experience level.”
What are the implications for people looking for work?
Full-timer job searches are a major reason people find themselves unemployed, but not all jobs in the job market are created equal.
“It is not surprising that the increase in full time search and part job search will lead to an increase in the unemployment rates of part-people,” Dr Martin Hamilton, from London School, said.
However this could also mean that some people will be able to move to part-person jobs.
That is something that is often difficult to achieve in the current labour market conditions, as people often do not have a good job to start with.
What can employers do to boost their job search efforts?
Employers should work harder to get people to apply to the job, and to use online job sites to attract and train candidates.
They should also use a combination of full and half-time search as well.
“A lot of people might be in a position where they are just not looking for a full-time job,” Dr Taylor said.
For example a student might be able find a full time position for which they would like to start, and then search for half-timings in the same way, but the student is not a full person and the employer will need to match them with a part-timer position.
“I think the big takeaway here is that the more people use the internet and the more they use the job search sites, the more likely it is that we will see more and more people looking to move into part- and full-employed jobs,” Dr Harris said.
How can employers use the data to make more informed decisions about hiring? The