Coworker Networks and the Role of Occupations in Job Finding

Which former coworkers help displaced workers find jobs? We answer this question by studying occupational similarity in job finding networks. Using matched employer-employee data from Hungary, this paper relates the unemployment duration of displaced workers to the employment rate within their former coworker networks. We find that while coworkers from all occupations are helpful in job finding, their impact varies by occupation skill-level. For workers in low-skill jobs, coworkers in the same narrow occupation as the displaced worker are the most helpful network contacts. For workers in high-skill jobs, coworkers from different occupations help the most