This research employs a search theory to explore the determinants of Taiwanese employed-searchers in making their search decisions over 1978-1990. The empirical data are collected from the Manpower Utilization Surveys, executed by the DGBAS of the Executive Yuan. By applying the maximum likelihood estimation method to a probit model, the main findings we obtained are the following results:
1.On the willingness to change jobs, married persons have a lower degree than unmarried persons. But on the willingness to either change jobs or find a moon-lighting opportunity, the difference between the two groups dwindled.
2. No matter whether to change jobs or find a moonlighting opportunity, the older workers have a lower degree of willingness.
3.The higher the education while a worker has, the higher the willingness to search on the job. The result is attributed to the sample of younger group.
4.The longer the seniority a worker has on the current job, the lower the probability to change jobs or find a moonlighting opportunity. Seniority shows a significant impact, which is consistent with the inference of existing literature.
5.Those workers who have changed jobs before are more inclined to change jobs.
6.The workers with higher wages now have a relatively lower willingness to search while on the job.
7.Concerning workers across industries or occupations, due to various job characteristics, working attitude and value judgement, their willingness to search while on the job are different. In recent years, the service sector has attracted many workers from other sectors. Before the early 1980s, the frequencies of labor turn-over across industries were not significantly different, but after the middle 1980s, the frequency of job change in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, commerce and the transportation, storage and communication industries are obviously higher than that in public administration, social service and personal service industries. As for various occupations, professional, technicians and supervisors have a lower willingness to change jobs than those workers in the transaction, service and production positions.
8. When the economy is in stages of recovery or prospering, more attractive working opportunities appear, so workers’ willingness to change jobs increases.
