Unemployment duration and the personalities of young adults workers

摘要

As in many countries, young adult workers in the United States have experienced tremendous employment volatility in recent years. In this paper, we examine the role personality plays in determining the duration of unemployment among young adults in the United States between 2008 and 2015. Evidence from estimation of a Competing Risks Model shows that when faced with unemployment, conscientious individuals are significantly more likely to find employment. Individuals scoring higher in neuroticism are more likely to leave the workforce and less likely to go back to school, while more agreeable individuals are more likely to go back to school. Because personality remains malleable for young adults, these results have implications for the literature related to job-search behavior as well as for educational and job-training programs.