[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp13678.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Recruiting Intensity and Hiring Practices: Cross-Sectional and Time-Series Evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Lochner, Benjamin

    (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)

  • Merkl, Christian

    (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)

  • Stüber, Heiko

    (Hochschule der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (HdBA))

  • Gürtzgen, Nicole

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg)

Abstract
Using the German IAB Job Vacancy Survey, we look into the black box of recruiting intensity and hiring practices from the employers' perspective. Our paper evaluates three important channels for hiring —namely vacancy posting, the selectivity of hiring (labor selection), and the number of search channels— through the lens of an undirected search model. Vacancy posting and labor selection show a U-shape over the employment growth distribution. The number of search channels is also upward sloping for growing establishments, but relatively flat for shrinking establishments. We argue that growing establishments react to positive establishment-specific productivity shocks by using all three channels more actively. Furthermore, we connect the fact that shrinking establishments post more vacancies and are less selective than those with a constant workforce to churn triggered by employment-to-employment transitions. In line with our theoretical framework, all three hiring margins are procyclical over the business cycle.

Suggested Citation

  • Lochner, Benjamin & Merkl, Christian & Stüber, Heiko & Gürtzgen, Nicole, 2020. "Recruiting Intensity and Hiring Practices: Cross-Sectional and Time-Series Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 13678, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13678
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp13678.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carlos Carrillo-Tudela & Hermann Gartner & Leo Kaas, 2023. "Recruitment Policies, Job-Filling Rates, and Matching Efficiency," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 21(6), pages 2413-2459.
    2. Alessandro Gavazza & Simon Mongey & Giovanni L. Violante, 2018. "Aggregate Recruiting Intensity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(8), pages 2088-2127, August.
    3. Hochmuth, Brigitte & Kohlbrecher, Britta & Merkl, Christian & Gartner, Hermann, 2021. "Hartz IV and the decline of German unemployment: A macroeconomic evaluation," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    4. Gartner, Hermann & Merkl, Christian & Rothe, Thomas, 2012. "Sclerosis and large volatilities: Two sides of the same coin," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 106-109.
    5. R. Jason Faberman & Andreas I. Mueller & Ayşegül Şahin & Giorgio Topa, 2022. "Job Search Behavior Among the Employed and Non‐Employed," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(4), pages 1743-1779, July.
    6. Sanjay K. Chugh & Christian Merkl, 2016. "Efficiency And Labor Market Dynamics In A Model Of Labor Selection," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 57(4), pages 1371-1404, November.
    7. Yusuf Mercan & Benjamin Schoefer, 2020. "Jobs and Matches: Quits, Replacement Hiring, and Vacancy Chains," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 101-124, March.
    8. van Ours, J C & Ridder, G, 1993. "Vacancy Durations: Search or Selection?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 55(2), pages 187-198, May.
    9. Barron, John M & Bishop, John & Dunkelberg, William C, 1985. "Employer Search: The Interviewing and Hiring of New Employees," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 67(1), pages 43-52, February.
    10. Merkl, Christian & van Rens, Thijs, 2019. "Selective hiring and welfare analysis in labor market models," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 117-130.
    11. Seth, Stefan & Stüber, Heiko, 2018. "The Administrative Wage and Labor Market Flow Panel," FAU Discussion Papers in Economics 01/2017, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute for Economics, revised 2018.
    12. Stüber, Heiko & Seth, Stefan, 2019. "The FDZ sample of the Administrative Wage and Labor Market Flow Panel 1976 - 2014," FDZ Datenreport. Documentation on Labour Market Data 201901_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    13. Morten O. Ravn & Harald Uhlig, 2002. "On adjusting the Hodrick-Prescott filter for the frequency of observations," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(2), pages 371-375.
    14. Kohlbrecher, Britta & Merkl, Christian & Nordmeier, Daniela, 2016. "Revisiting the matching function," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 350-374.
    15. Gerard J. van den Berg & Bas van der Klaauw, 2019. "Structural Empirical Evaluation Of Job Search Monitoring," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 60(2), pages 879-903, May.
    16. Stüber, Heiko & Seth, Stefan & Lochner, Benjamin, 2020. "The Administrative Wage and Labor Market Flow Panel Extension for the IAB Job Vacancy Survey 2010 - 2014," FDZ Datenreport. Documentation on Labour Market Data 202008_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    17. 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.
    18. Violante, Giovanni & Mongey, Simon, 2019. "Macro Recruiting Intensity from Micro Data," CEPR Discussion Papers 14004, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Ismail Baydur, 2017. "Worker Selection, Hiring, and Vacancies," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 88-127, January.
    20. Mortensen, Dale & Pissarides, Christopher, 2011. "Job Creation and Job Destruction in the Theory of Unemployment," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 1, pages 1-19.
    21. Moczall, Andreas & Müller, Anne & Rebien, Martina & Vogler-Ludwig, Kurt, 2015. "The IAB job vacancy survey : establishment survey on job vacancies and recruitment processes. Waves 2000 to 2013 and subsequent quarters from 2006," FDZ Datenreport. Documentation on Labour Market Data 201504_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    22. Bachmann, Rüdiger & Bayer, Christian & Merkl, Christian & Seth, Stefan & Stüber, Heiko & Wellschmied, Felix, 2017. "Worker Churn and Employment Growth at the Establishment Level," VfS Annual Conference 2017 (Vienna): Alternative Structures for Money and Banking 168162, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    23. Stüber, Heiko & Seth, Stefan & Stegmaier, Jens, 2020. "The Administrative Wage and Labor Market Flow Panel Extension for the IAB Establishment Panel 1993 - 2014," FDZ Datenreport. Documentation on Labour Market Data 202007_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    24. repec:iab:iabfda:201504(en is not listed on IDEAS
    25. Michael W. L. Elsby & Ryan Michaels, 2013. "Marginal Jobs, Heterogeneous Firms, and Unemployment Flows," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 1-48, January.
    26. Sanjay K. Chugh & Christian Merkl, 2016. "Efficiency And Labor Market Dynamics In A Model Of Labor Selection," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 57, pages 1371-1404, November.
    27. repec:iab:iabfda:201901(en is not listed on IDEAS
    28. repec:iab:iabfda:202008(en is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kohlbrecher, Britta & Merkl, Christian, 2022. "Business cycle asymmetries and the labor market," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    2. Christian Merkl & Timo Sauerbier, 2024. "Public Employment Agency Reform, Matching Efficiency, and German Unemployment," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 72(1), pages 393-440, March.
    3. Weinstein, Russell, 2021. "Graduating from a Less Selective University during a Recession: Evidence from Mobility Report Cards and Employer Recruiting," IZA Discussion Papers 14462, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Hochmuth, Brigitte & Kohlbrecher, Britta & Merkl, Christian & Gartner, Hermann, 2021. "Hartz IV and the decline of German unemployment: A macroeconomic evaluation," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    5. Simon Mongey & Giovanni L. Violante, 2019. "Macro Recruiting Intensity from Micro Data," NBER Working Papers 26231, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Arnd Kölling, 2022. "Shortage of Skilled Labor, Unions and the Wage Premium: A Regression Analysis with Establishment Panel Data for Germany," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 239-259, June.
    7. Bossler, Mario & Gürtzgen, Nicole & Kubis, Alexander & Küfner, Benjamin & Lochner, Benjamin, 2020. "The IAB Job Vacancy Survey: design and research potential," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 54(1), pages 1-13.
    8. Carlos Carrillo-Tudela & Hermann Gartner & Leo Kaas, 2023. "Recruitment Policies, Job-Filling Rates, and Matching Efficiency," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 21(6), pages 2413-2459.
    9. Gürtzgen, Nicole & Kubis, Alexander, 2021. "Stellenbesetzungen in der Corona-Krise: Mehr Arbeitslose pro offene Stelle, weniger Besetzungsschwierigkeiten (Recruitment Processes during the Covid-19 Pandemic: More Unemployed Job Seekers per Vacan," IAB-Kurzbericht 202115, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    10. Carolin Linckh & Samuel Muehlemann & Harald Pfeifer, 2024. "Beggars cannot be choosers: The effect of labor market tightness on hiring standards, wages, and hiring costs," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0217, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    11. Bossler, Mario & Gürtzgen, Nicole & Kubis, Alexander & Küfner, Benjamin, 2020. "IAB-Stellenerhebung im ersten Quartal 2020: Mit dem Corona-Shutdown ging zuerst die Zahl der offenen Stellen zurück (IAB Job Vacancy Survey: The corona shutdown initially led employers to post less va," IAB-Kurzbericht 202012, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    12. Kölling, Arnd, 2023. "Does skill shortage pay off for nursing staff in Germany? Wage premiums for hiring problems, industrial relations, and profitability," MPRA Paper 116205, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hochmuth, Brigitte & Kohlbrecher, Britta & Merkl, Christian & Gartner, Hermann, 2021. "Hartz IV and the decline of German unemployment: A macroeconomic evaluation," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    2. Kohlbrecher, Britta & Merkl, Christian, 2022. "Business cycle asymmetries and the labor market," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    3. Lochner, Ben & Merkl, Christian & Stüber, Heiko & Gürtzgen, Nicole, 2019. "A note on recruiting intensity and hiring practices: Cross-sectional and time-series evidence," FAU Discussion Papers in Economics 04/2019, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute for Economics, revised 2019.
    4. Carlos Carrillo-Tudela & Hermann Gartner & Leo Kaas, 2023. "Recruitment Policies, Job-Filling Rates, and Matching Efficiency," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 21(6), pages 2413-2459.
    5. Merkl, Christian & Stüber, Heiko, 2024. "Wage and employment cyclicalities at the establishment level," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    6. Sanjay K. Chugh & Christian Merkl, 2016. "Efficiency And Labor Market Dynamics In A Model Of Labor Selection," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 57(4), pages 1371-1404, November.
    7. Merkl, Christian & Stüber, Heiko, 2016. "Wage cyclicalities and labor market dynamics at the establishment level: Theory and evidence," FAU Discussion Papers in Economics 12/2016, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute for Economics.
    8. Chugh, Sanjay K. & Lechthaler, Wolfgang & Merkl, Christian, 2018. "Optimal fiscal policy with labor selection," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 142-189.
    9. Forsythe, Eliza & Weinstein, Russell, 2021. "Recruiting Intensity, Hires, and Vacancies: Evidence from Firm-Level Data," IZA Discussion Papers 14138, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Mario Bossler & Nicole Gürtzgen & Alexander Kubis & Benjamin Küfner & Benjamin Lochner, 2020. "The IAB Job Vacancy Survey: design and research potential," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 54(1), pages 1-12, December.
    11. Sengul, Gonul, 2017. "Effect of labor market policies on unemployment when firms adapt their recruitment strategy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 169-179.
    12. Ronald Wolthoff, 2010. "Applications and Interviews: A Structural Analysis of Two-Sided Simultaneous Search," 2010 Meeting Papers 114, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    13. Davis, Steven J. & Samaniego de la Parra, Brenda, 2024. "Application Flows," IZA Discussion Papers 16903, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Christian Merkl & Heiko Stüber, 2019. "Value added, wages and labour market flows at the establishment level," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(2), pages 135-142, January.
    15. Jonathon Hazell & Bledi Taska, 2020. "Downward Rigidity in the Wage for New Hires," Discussion Papers 2028, Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM).
    16. Bagger, Jesper & Fontaine, Francois & Galenianos, Manolis & Trapeznikova, Ija, 2022. "Vacancies, employment outcomes and firm growth: Evidence from Denmark," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    17. Hochmuth, Brigitte & Gartner, Hermann & Kohlbrecher, Britta & Merkl, Christian, 2016. "Labor selection over the business cycle: An empirical assessment," FAU Discussion Papers in Economics 02/2016, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute for Economics.
    18. Ronald Bachmann & Peggy Bechara, 2019. "The Importance of Two‐Sided Heterogeneity for the Cyclicality of Labour Market Dynamics," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 87(6), pages 794-820, December.
    19. Shigeru Fujita & Makoto Nakajima, 2016. "Worker Flows and Job Flows: A Quantitative Investigation," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 22, pages 1-20, October.
    20. Peter Kuhn & Kailing Shen, 2009. "Employers' Preferences for Gender, Age, Height and Beauty: Direct Evidence," NBER Working Papers 15564, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    recruiting intensity; vacancies; labor selection; survey data; administrative data;
    All these keywords.

    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
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13678. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.