Getting a job when times are bad: recruitment practices in Sweden before, during and after the Great Recession

TY - JOUR

T1 - Getting a job when times are bad

T2 - recruitment practices in Sweden before, during and after the Great Recession

AU - Håkansson, Peter

AU - Nilsson, Anders

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Research on recruitment shows that networks matter and are effective as search channels. The aim of this article is to analyse how recruitment practices varies over time, and specifically, how it has varied before, during, and after the Great Recession 2008–2009. The findings are that recruitment practices change both in the short term, in relation to labour supply, which we can call a cyclical effect, but also in accordance to a long-term, structural effects. Informal recruitment practices, such as recruitment through ‘friends and acquaintances’ and ‘employer made contact’, seem to increase during bad times. In the long run, the recruitment practices ‘direct application’, ‘friends and acquaintances’ and ‘formal private’ increase in relation to recruitment through the Swedish Public Employment Agency (SPEA). A reason for this may be that the labour market in the new knowledge economy demands a heterogenic workforce with high demands on non-cognitive skills and customisation. Here the new network recruitment practices seem to fit in.

AB - Research on recruitment shows that networks matter and are effective as search channels. The aim of this article is to analyse how recruitment practices varies over time, and specifically, how it has varied before, during, and after the Great Recession 2008–2009. The findings are that recruitment practices change both in the short term, in relation to labour supply, which we can call a cyclical effect, but also in accordance to a long-term, structural effects. Informal recruitment practices, such as recruitment through ‘friends and acquaintances’ and ‘employer made contact’, seem to increase during bad times. In the long run, the recruitment practices ‘direct application’, ‘friends and acquaintances’ and ‘formal private’ increase in relation to recruitment through the Swedish Public Employment Agency (SPEA). A reason for this may be that the labour market in the new knowledge economy demands a heterogenic workforce with high demands on non-cognitive skills and customisation. Here the new network recruitment practices seem to fit in.

KW - Great Recession

KW - Network recruitment

KW - recruitment practice

KW - social capital

KW - social network

KW - unemployment

U2 - 10.1080/03585522.2018.1543729

DO - 10.1080/03585522.2018.1543729

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85057303714

VL - 67

SP - 132

EP - 153

JO - Scandinavian Economic History Review

JF - Scandinavian Economic History Review

SN - 1750-2837

IS - 2

ER -