Search Unemployment with On-the-job Search

This paper introduces on-the-job search into the model of search equilibrium that builds on the concept of the matching function and non-cooperative wage behavior. On-the-job search takes place only at short job tenures because of the accumulation of job-specific human capital. The model of search equilibrium retains familiar structure but yields new results. The most interesting is an increase in cyclical volatility of job vacancies and a dampening in that of unemployment, because of induced changes in the composition of jobs and the number of employed job seekers.