Türkiye'deki iş arama yöntemleri üzerine bir inceleme

This work examines the prevalence and wage effects of informal job search networks in Turkey using Household Labor Force Survey data (2005-2023). It investigates the evolution of informal job finding, its average impact on wages, after controlling for extensive characteristics, variations across occupational skills, and moderation by household members in similar occupations (a proxy for strong ties). The descriptive analysis reveals a significant rise in informal job finding, especially post-2018, becoming the dominant method after the pandemic. Employing OLS regression, results indicate a modest average wage penalty of around 2-4% for jobs found informally. However, this effect is heterogeneous: the penalty is driven by professionals, managers, and technicians, while being marginally significant for elementary and other blue-collar workers. Having a household member in the same occupation counteracts this penalty, suggesting a who you know premium. Yet, for skilled workers, finding jobs informally despite such household ties correlates with an amplified wage penalty, supporting a last resort rather than a better match explanation for this group.