Understanding the job market

Most graduating PhDs seeking jobs in academia, government, or industry will participate in the job market for economists and may interview around the time of the ASSA Annual Meeting in early January.  

The job market process

The AEA provides a guide to the job market process created by John Cawley. It details the following:

  • Preparing to go on the job market
  • Applying for academic jobs
  • Signaling
  • Interviewing 
  • Campus visits
  • The secondary market "Scramble"
  • Offers and negotiating
  • Getting a head start on succeeding as an assistant professor
  • Diversity
  • The dual job search

Job openings for economists

The American Economic Association provides the JOE Network (Job Openings for Economists Network) for employers and job-seekers who are participating in the annual economics job market cycle.

AEA Committee on the Job Market

The AEA's Committee on the Job Market posts information and updates in various reports and webinars on the economics job market.

Current salary and job market information

There are several sources of current salary and job market information for economists:

Further reading

Auerbach, Alan J., Francine D. Blau, and John B. Shoven. 2004. "The Labor Market for New Ph.D. Economists: Panel Discussion." American Economic Review, 94 (2), pp. 286-290.

Coles, Peter, John Cawley, Phillip B. Levine, Muriel Niederle, Alvin E. Roth, and John J. Siegfried (2010) "The Job Market for New Economists: a Market Design Perspective" Journal of Economic Perspectives 24(4) (Fall): 187-206.

Ehrenberg, Ronald G. 2004. "Prospects in the Academic Labor Market for Economists." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 18 (2), pp. 227-238.

Jihui, Chen, Qihong Liu, and Sherrilyn Billger. 2012. “Where Do New Ph.D. Economists Go? Evidence from Recent Initial Job Placements.” Journal of Labor Research, 34, pp. 312-338.

Krueger, Anne O. 1999. "Implications of the Labor Market for Graduate Education in Economics." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 13 (3), pp. 153-156.

Smeets, Valerie, Frederic Warzynski, and Tom Coupe. 2006. "Does the Academic Labor Market Initially Allocate New Graduates Efficiently?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(3), pp. 161-172.