Building Resilience During Job Search: A Randomized Evaluation Among Unemployed Graduates in Ethiopia

Searching for a job is a dynamic and self-regulatory process in which effort and motivation are key, but it can be psychologically taxing. Unemployment globally is associated with psychological distress, and in turn, distress is itself linked with a set of cognitive mechanisms that can undermine search efforts. This project asks whether strengthening psychological well-being and socio-emotional skills during unemployment can improve job search behavior and employment outcomes. We experimentally evaluate a five- week psychological support and socio-emotional skills building intervention among unemployed recent graduates in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -- a context
characterized by high youth unemployment, limited social safety nets, and high rates of psychological distress. We randomize jobseekers into one of three groups: a comparison group, a group delivery arm, and an individual delivery arm, allowing us to estimate the impact of psychological support and the additional role of peer interaction. We measure impacts on psychological well-being, job search effort, types of jobs targeted, employment outcomes, and several mechanisms including subjective expectations, networks, and the perceived costs of search. The findings will inform the design of youth employment programs across low- and middle- income countries, where the psychological toll of prolonged joblessness remains an under-explored barrier to workforce entry.