Using Web-based search data to predict macroeconomic statistics

The unemployment levels disclosed by the US government, and the significant association between the job-search variables and the official unemployment data are discussed. There are two kinds of Internet resources are available for job seekers, corporate job-posting sites and employment agencies. Access to either kind of employment resource requires job seekers first to locate its job site, which is commonly done using search engines. The Internet is credited with overcoming information bottlenecks in key areas of the labor market, affecting how worker-firm matches are made, and how local markets shape demand. Another avenue for future research on job searches would be to obtain data from large job site portals, such as monster.com, rather than metasearch engines.