Skill Signaling via Application Workshop
RCTClinical Trial
Active labor market programs frequently promote self-employment or gig work under the assumption that youth prefer entrepreneurial independence, ignoring strong baseline preferences for stable wage employment.
Picture this
Imagine choosing between starting a risky street-food cart or taking an entry-level office job with a guaranteed monthly salary—despite the freedom of running a cart, most young workers prefer the office job because predictable income shields them from severe financial shocks.
What the evidence says
64% of youth searched specifically for permanent jobs (versus 11% seeking temporary work), work stability was the second most cited desirable job characteristic (20.4% versus 6.7% for working hours), and only 5.4% cited starting a business as a reason for non-search.
- Who was studied
- N = 3,052 youth job-seekers (aged 18–29, high school educated) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- How
- Baseline survey elicitation of preferred search contract types, job quality rankings, and reasons for non-search.
What to do
Prioritize formal wage-employment matching programs over self-employment subsidies when designing active labor market policies for urban youth.
From the source
"when asked what kind of work they were looking for, 64% said they were looking specifically for a permanent job, whereas only 25% reported they were applying to jobs without consideration for the contract type. Only 5.4% of respondents said that they were trying to start their own business"
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