Abstract

To assess long-term unemployed individuals’ reemployment propensities, knowledge about employers’ perception of this group and their willingness to hire long-term unemployed job seekers is of crucial importance. Using the IAB job vacancy survey, we first examine whether employers are willing to consider applications by long-term unemployed when filling their vacancies. We will also explore employers’ perceptions of the specific characteristics of the long-term unemployed that are relevant to the labor market, in order to identify employers’ job requirements and possible exclusion criteria in the recruitment process. Second, we will explore the cyclical determinants of employers’ willingness to hire long-term unemployed job seekers.  The main data source is the IAB Job Vacancy Survey from 2008 onwards. As the representative establishment survey has been collecting specific information on the willingness to hire long-term unemployed job seekers since 2008, this information is meanwhile available in a time-series dimension.