Projects

How are Job Markets and Unions being changed by the Internet?

Aims

The project seeks to study changes in three areas; (1) job search and recruitment; (2) the allocation of time to work and; (3) the service that unions provide workers.
To find out how workers, firms & unions are altering their behaviour in response to the lower cost of communication and interaction that the new technology provides, which should hopefully improve the efficiency of the labour market.

Methodology

The research will be quantitative, using existing data from firms & developing our own data. To examine the impact of the Internet on job search, we will obtain data from e-recruitment companies, personal interviews with major firms who use the new technology. To develop our own web based survey of employer and employee users. To examine the impact of the Internet on hours worked, we will be linking computerlized data files on Internet usage with data files on hours and locus of work. To study the response of unions to the Internet, we will undertake: web-based survey of union web sites & webmasters and investigate innovative UK union use of ICT, such as the new Trade Union Congress www.worksmart.org.uk site. We will try to install statistical packages to monitor use of some websites to determine which features are most valuable & attractive. Our analysis of union use of the Internet with the use by other non-profit social organisations. We have a two year time horizon.

Keywords

Internet; e-recruitment; job search; hours worked; unions.

Publications

Analysis of data from the first year of the research is still in progress.