PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Klaauw, Bas van der
AU  - Ziegler, Lennart
TI  - A Field Experiment on Labor Market Speeddates for Unemployed Workers
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.1021-11946R2
DP  - 2022 Jun 10
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 1021-11946R2
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2022/06/01/jhr.1021-11946R2.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2022/06/01/jhr.1021-11946R2.full
AB  - We conduct a field experiment to evaluate labor market speeddates where unemployed workers meet temporary employment agencies. Participation in such events increases immediate job finding by 6-7 percentage points. Afterwards employment effects diminish, suggesting that temporary employment has no long-lasting effect on employment prospects. While the intervention is cost effective for the UI administration, higher labor earnings of treated job seekers do not compensate for the decline in benefit payments. Survey evidence shows that speeddate participation increases job search motivation and reduces reservation wages. These findings concur with predictions of a model where job seekers update their labor market beliefs.