RIEB Discussion Paper Series No.2024-29

Title

Did COVID-19 Deteriorate Mismatch in the Japanese Labor Market?

Abstract

This study explores how the COVID-19 pandemic deteriorated the mismatch in the Japanese labor market. First, we focus on the differences in job flows by occupation and employment type, which differ according to the risk of infection. We then estimate the mismatch indices for distinct labor markets clustered by occupations that are more and less vulnerable to the pandemic using the method developed by Şahin et al. (2014). We find that the pandemic induced a mismatch for full-time workers in occupations with a high risk of infection, those in which it is easy to work remotely, and those in which it is particularly difficult to work remotely, as well as for part-time workers in occupations in which it is easy to work remotely.

Keywords

Mismatch; O-NET data; COVID-19; Labor market tightness

JEL Classification

J61, J62, J63

Inquiries

Yudai HIGASHI
Faculty of Economics, Kyoto Sangyo University
Junior Research Fellow, Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University

Masaru SASAKI
Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)