Extensive Search, Intensive Search, and Hiring Costs: New Evidence on Employer Hiring Activity

This paper presents recent evidence on employer search to fill a position. A 1982 employer survey sponsored by the National Institute of Education and the National Center for Research in Vocational Education provides the basis for analyzing employer search and hiring costs. The paper examines the effects of such factors as employer size, dismissal costs, unionization, on‐the‐job training, adjustment costs, capital, and labor market conditions on intensive employer search, extensive employer search, and hiring costs. Intensive employer search is measured by the average number of hours the employer spends recruiting, screening, and interviewing per applicant. Extensive search is measured by the number of applicants seen per applicant interviewed and the number interviewed per employment.