Age-Related Differences in Job Search Behavior: Do Older Jobseekers Need a Larger Social Network?

Abstract

Increasing the employment rate of individuals aged 55+ is a key challenge in many OECD countries. While labor market discrimination and policy measures have been put forward as possible explanations, the role of job search remains largely unexplored. Yet, it determines to a large extent the match between supply and demand on the labor market. In this paper, we examine age-related differences in job search behavior. As skills have often become outdated for older workers, but job mobility may enhance their employment, we analyze search behavior for the unemployed as well as the employed adopting multiple parameters: job search intensity, use of the public employment agency, and social networking. The results indicate that jobseekers of different age employ different search methods, and that this relationship should be analyzed within the employment context of the jobseeker.