Workers’ Perceptions in Concentrated Labor Markets

Does imperfect competition in the labor market influence workers’ opinions and perceptions? To address this question, this study leverages rich survey data from Italy, focusing on employees’ self-reported satisfaction, job insecurity, and beliefs about re-employment prospects combined with labor market concentration measures. Two-stage least squares (TSLS) estimates indicate that labor market concentration negatively affects workers’ satisfaction with their jobs, tasks, earnings, and employment stability. Moreover, although labor market concentration does not significantly impact self-reported job loss risk, it reduces workers’ perceived likelihood of finding and securing comparable employment positions.