Factors Determining Callbacks to Job Applications by the Unemployed: An Audit Study / Henry S. Farber, Dan Silverman, Till von Wachter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Farber, Henry S.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Silverman, Dan.

von Wachter, Till.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w21689.

NBER working paper series no. w21689

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Factors Determining Callbacks to Job Applications by the Unemployed

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2015.

Summary:

We use an audit study approach to investigate how unemployment duration, age, and holding a low-level "interim" job affect the likelihood that experienced college-educated females applying for an administrative support job receive a callback from a potential employer. First, the results show no relationship between callback rates and the duration of unemployment. Second, workers age 50 and older are significantly less likely to receive a callback. Third, taking an interim job significantly reduces the likelihood of receiving a callback. Finally, employers who have higher callback rates respond less to observable differences across workers in determining whom to call back. We interpret these results in the context of a model of employer learning about applicant quality.

Notes:

Print version record

October 2015.