We investigate the sources of (mis)match between increasing demand for caregiving services (with respect to older and dependent people) and insufficient labour supply. Previous research suggests that matching process in caregiving services is not only about the wage. Hence, using various data sources, including on-line data, administrative data and discrete choice experiment’s results we explore to what extent particular job offers properties make both sides on the matching process pass each other. We refer to mismatch and matching directly. On one hand, we explore preferences of the potential caregiving workers and job offers properties. On the other, we estimate a set of logistic regression models to reveal how these features determine actual job creation process in caregiving services.
We find that wage is not a gamechanger. Potential workers rather perceive caregiving as a side job, and want to perform undemanding duties, while the needs for non-medical but more demanding care are much bigger. The public employment intermediation is not enough to meet increasing demand, and it is most successful when only one job vacancy is offered to a female residing in rural area. The success of the ‘lack of alternatives strategy’ further suggests that the job positions in caregiving services are not desired by potential workers.
The discrepancy between demand and supply confirm that higher wages will not solely solve the problems of labour supply shortages. Potential wage rate increase might encourage the inflow of new workers to caregiving occupations, nevertheless since the mismatch primarily lays in others aspects, different public policy interventions should be created to address the increasingly urgent problem of supply shortages and labour market mismatch in caregiving sector.