"How do migrants and natives search for jobs ?"

Abstract :

In this paper, we start by presenting new empirical facts on the job search behaviour of migrants. Using data from the largest online platform in Sweden, we find strong segregation between migrants and natives already at the application stage. Migrants from developing countries apply to jobs that pay 6% less (3% less when controlling for observable characteristics) and to employers that pay 3% less. In a second step, we measure the differential in the application success probability between migrants and natives. We find that, conditional on applying, migrants are less likely to be hired. From the point of view of a native applicant to a job, three marginal migrant applicants exert the same competition as one marginal native applicant. Because migrants and natives apply to different jobs, and because employers are less likely to hire a migrant than a native applicant, the effective competition that migrant shocks generate for the average native worker is likely to be mitigated. Using a simple conceptual framework in which we plug our empirical estimates regarding differential application behaviour and differential probability of being hired conditional on applying, we show that displacement effects induced by migrant shocks are reduced to 45% of their potential maximum value.