THE EVALUATION OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND JOB-SEARCHING BEHAVIOR - A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY

Behavior of unemployed persons was studied in the framework of the gen eral value-expectancy model (Feather, 1982), which states that finding a job is affected by job-searching behavior, which is, in turn, influ enced by the intention to look for a job. This intention is then affec ted by satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the current state of unemp loyment. The satisfaction or dissatisfaction with being unemployed is hypothesized to be affected by the subjective gains of employment, as well as by the presence of particular features of the specific situati on, such as variation and the amount of money one can spend. The model was tested and cross-validated by LISREL and logit analysis with a lo ngitudinal sample of 232 young, Dutch, unemployed persons. The results largely confirm the hypotheses concerning the determinants of motivat ion for looking for a job and job-seeking behavior. However, there was no link between the variables in the model and actually finding a job .