Demand for qualified employees as a matching-problem for firms

Abstract

"The study attempts to record the present discussion surrounding the demand for additional qualified employees in the context of a company-internal search model. In these theoretical approaches, the companies determine a best possible strategy for searching for new labour. For this purpose, they set a minimum qualification level for applicants with whom they conclude a contract of employment. However, if these criteria are determined exogenously due to technical or other requirements, then it is possible that an optimal search strategy can no longer be pursued. This might lead to the companies' labour demand not being met. The assumptions of a company-internal search model are substantiated by the empirical analysis using the IAB establishment panel (2000) and the IAB linked employer-employee dataset. The descriptive analysis shows that it is particularly difficult to fill the vacancies for engineers and computer scientists. In addition, the hypotheses of the search model are further supported by Poisson regressions of the number of unfilled vacancies. Especially organizational changes lead to an increase in the number of unfilled vacancies for graduates and engineers. However, the wage level, economic development and company-internal characteristics also play an important role. The approach of an internal search model can very well help to explain the labour market for highly-qualified employees." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Kölling, A. (2002): Fachkräftebedarf als betriebliches Matching-Problem. In: Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Vol. 35, No. 4, p. 566-579.