Back to History Current Version

The Effects of Local Labor Market Information on Job Search and Employment: Evidence from an Online Job Portal

Last registered on March 09, 2020
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Effects of Local Labor Market Information on Job Search and Employment: Evidence from an Online Job Portal
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005533
Initial registration date
March 08, 2020

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
March 09, 2020, 7:47 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
India
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Niharika Singh
Affiliation
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2019-06-01
End date
2021-05-31
Keywords
Gender, Labor
Additional Keywords
Job Search, Online Job Portals
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We conduct a randomized experiment providing local and customized search guidance to jobseekers on an online job portal in India. The central aim of the project is to understand whether and how this information provision influences job search strategies and labor market outcomes. Specifically, we provide jobseekers with two types of information-- callback rates and measures of relative ability-- at the local market level, which is defined as the city and job category of search for individual jobseekers. We follow these jobseekers over a period of 2-3 months and use a combination of ‘click data’ from the portal and survey data to measure impacts on labor market outcomes.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Singh, Niharika. 2020. "The Effects of Local Labor Market Information on Job Search and Employment: Evidence from an Online Job Portal." AEA RCT Registry. March 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5533-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The interventions involve providing two types of information to jobseekers on an online job portal: (i) callback rates on the platform; and (ii) relative ability. All information is provided at the local labor market level, which is defined as the city and job category of search for individual jobseekers.
Intervention Start Date
2020-03-09
Intervention End Date
2020-08-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Applications; Callback rate on online job portal; Job offers; Employment status; Source of employment
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Changes in search behavior (whether applied to more than one job category or reliance on other methods of search); Changes in job targeting behavior on the platform (type of jobs viewed or applied to as measured by average experience requirements or salary); Employment quality (wages, contract type; tenure expectations; job satisfaction); Skill investment
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The interventions involve providing two types of information to jobseekers on an online job portal: (i) callback rates on the platform; (ii) relative ability. All information is provided at the local labor market level, which is defined as the city and job category of search for jobseekers. We recruit jobseekers on an online job portal to participate in our study. They are asked to complete a short survey activity which collects basic demographics, baseline beliefs, and administers an English skills test. Upon successful completion of the activity, they are randomly assigned to receive one or both of the two information types or to the control group, which does not receive any information. These information treatments are delivered directly on the online job portal after completion of the activity and e-mailed to the jobseekers. The experimental groups are given below, with some additional variation in the exact content of the treatment to deepen our understanding of how and which types of information may affect search.

Group A: Control group. No information is provided.

Group B: Callback rates. We provide average monthly callback rate on the platform for your local labor market (B1). In this variation, we show callback rates from an adjacent job category that the jobseeker may be suitable for (B2). In a second variation, we show callback rates by education level to increase the customization and relevance of the information for the jobseeker; we do this both for their preferred job category and an adjacent job category (B3 and B4).

Group C: Relative ability. We show relative education levels in your local labor market (C1). In a variation, we also show percentile rank on an English skills test as a measure of ability (C2).

Group D: Callback rates + relative ability. We combine treatments from group B and C to see the joint effects of providing information on callback rates and relative ability. We only show callback rates for your local labor market (B1) and show either relative education levels (C1) or the the percentile rank treatment (C2).

Information treatments on callback rates and relative education levels are generated by using 6 months of online job portal data prior to the start of the experiment. Our information treatment on percentile rank on an English skills test relies on data from tests taken by jobseekers using the portal whom we invited via email and on the portal prior to the start of the experiment. We use those completed tests to generate relative performance rankings at the local labor market level.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done on the online job portal by implementation partner
Randomization Unit
Individual randomization
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
10,000 jobseekers
Sample size: planned number of observations
10,000 jobseekers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Each treatment variation will have up to 1,100 jobseekers.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Committee on the Use of Human Subject at Harvard
IRB Approval Date
2019-08-17
IRB Approval Number
IRB19-0899
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials