The more, the better? Online job search advice and job seekers’ reemployment prospects

Last registered on June 24, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The more, the better? Online job search advice and job seekers’ reemployment prospects
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013821
Initial registration date
June 16, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
June 24, 2024, 2:03 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Robert Mahlstedt
Affiliation
University of Copenhagen
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Alexander Sebald
PI Affiliation
Copenhagen Business School
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PI Name
Hannah Simon
PI Affiliation
University of Copenhagen
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-06-17
End date
2025-06-16
Keywords
Labor
Additional Keywords
Job Search, Unemployment, Information Frictions
JEL code(s)
D83, D84, J64
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We study how online job search assistance affects the job search behavior and labor market outcomes of unemployed workers. We conduct a country-wide field experiment on the dashboard of an online job search platform in Denmark. The dashboard provides job seekers with varying forms of job search assistance, including information about the occupational or geographical dimension of search, as well as the use
of different search methods. We link the data from our field experiment with comprehensive register data on job seekers’ labor market outcomes and click-by-click data on their online job search behavior. We examine the impact of concurrently offering diverse forms of advice on job seekers’ decision-making and assess whether it enhances or distorts their search behavior.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Mahlstedt, Robert, Alexander Sebald and Hannah Simon. 2024. "The more, the better? Online job search advice and job seekers’ reemployment prospects." AEA RCT Registry. June 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13821-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
See pre-analyis plan.
Intervention Start Date
2024-06-17
Intervention End Date
2025-06-16

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Realized labor market outcomes (job finding, working hours and earnings) accumulated over different time horizons (i.e.
6 and 12 after the start of the intervention).

Job seekers’ search activities on the online platform of the Danish public employment
service (jobnet.dk) measured through click-by-click data.

Job seekers’ beliefs, e.g., about their job finding prospects, and planned job search
behavior as measured in the survey.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We divide the sample randomly into four groups that differ with respect to the information cards displayed on their online dashboard (on the online platform jobnet.dk), which we use to disseminate varying information to unemployed workers through different information cards.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is done by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual and regional level (98 municipalities in Denmark)
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
98
Sample size: planned number of observations
We include approximately 80,000 job seekers registered as unemployed on June 17, 2024. Moreover, we include about all individuals who enter unemployment within six months of the experiment start.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
We assign each of the 98 municipalities to one of two treatment regimes: 1) low-intensity regions and 2) high-intensity regions. In low-intensity regions, job seekers are assigned to the control group (group 4) with a probability of 70%. In high-intensity regions job seekers
are assigned to the control group (group 4) with a probability of 25%. The remaining job seekers are assigned to the treatment groups 1-3 with equal probabilities.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
CBS Ethics Council
IRB Approval Date
2024-01-19
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

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