Seminar "Impact of COVID-19 on skill requirements and skill returns: Evidence from job websites"

IOS-IZA-HSE University International Labor Seminar was held on November 2, 2021.

Speaker: Sergey Kapelyuk (Siberian University of Consumer Cooperation). 

Title: Impact of COVID-19 on skill requirements and skill returns: Evidence from job websites

This paper analyzes the requirements of employers for the professional skills of applicants. The aim of the study is to identify the determinants of skill requirements, and investigate the association between skill requirements and wages. The database of the study was constructed by the authors on the basis of vacancies posted by Russian employers on the portal "Work in Russia" of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation in 2019-2021. Using the requirements in the vacancies, we identify 13 main skill groups. Our analysis of 5,412,089 vacancies indicates a significant return on cognitive and management skills. The selected period allowed us to assess changes in the requirements before and after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been an increase in requirements for general computer skills, while requirements for education and work experience, character skills, and professional knowledge have decreased. As a result of the pandemic, there have been significant changes in the rates of return to human capital. The return to education and work experience, management, writing and customer service skills have decreased, and the return on professional knowledge has increased.
Joint paper with Elena Lishchuk (Siberian University of Consumer Cooperation).