Digital Recruitment Platforms and Youth Unemployment in Africa: A Microeconometric Analysis of Rekrute and Indeed
Abstract
This paper evaluates the causal effect of digital recruitment platforms, specifically Rekrute and Indeed, on the employment outcomes of African youth aged 18 to 34. Using an original cross-country micro-survey of 1,428 individuals in Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa collected between June and November 2025, the study identifies the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT) through a combined strategy that blends Inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment (IPWRA), Propensity Score Matching with Difference-in-Differences (PSM-DiD), and a Heckman two-step selection correction to address both observable and unobservable sources of bias. Platform adopters record a 13.2 percentage-point increase in the probability of formal employment and a 17.8 percent gain in monthly earnings compared to matched non-users. Effects are largest among tertiary-educated urban youth, where the ATT reaches 18.7 percentage points, and smallest among rural and lower-secondary groups, where returns shrink to 7.1 percentage points. The parallel trends check, common support diagnostics, Rosenbaum bounds (Γ = 1.7), and a placebo test on pre-adoption quarters all support the identifying assumptions. Findings confirm that algorithmic matching reduces search frictions but simultaneously reproduces a digital divide tied to language, ICT literacy, and geography.
References
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Autor, D. H. (2001). Wiring the labor market. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(1), 25–40. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.15.1.25
Banerjee, A., Chandrasekhar, A. G., Duflo, E., & Jackson, M. O. (2020). Using gossips to spread information: Theory and evidence from two randomized controlled trials. The Review of Economic Studies, 86(6), 2453–2490. https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdz008
Barsoum, G. (2019). “Women, work and family”: Educated women's employment decisions and social policies in Egypt. Gender, Work & Organization, 26(7), 895–914. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12285
Bassi, V., & Nansamba, A. (2022). Screening and signalling non-cognitive skills: Experimental evidence from Uganda. The Economic Journal, 132(642), 471–511. https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/ueab071
Beam, E. A. (2016). Do job fairs matter? Experimental evidence on the impact of job-fair attendance. Journal of Development Economics, 120, 32–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2015.11.004
Belot, M., Kircher, P., & Muller, P. (2019). Providing advice to jobseekers at low cost: An experimental study on online advice. The Review of Economic Studies, 86(4), 1411–1447. https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdy059
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Callaway, B., & Sant'Anna, P. H. C. (2021). Difference-in-differences with multiple time periods. Journal of Econometrics, 225(2), 200–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2020.12.001
Card, D., & Krueger, A. B. (1994). Minimum wages and employment: A case study of the fast-food industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. American Economic Review, 84(4), 772–793.
Carranza, E., Garlick, R., Orkin, K., & Rankin, N. (2022). Job search and hiring with limited information about workseekers' skills. American Economic Review, 112(11), 3547–3583. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20200961
Chan, J., & Wang, J. (2018). Hiring preferences in online labor markets: Evidence of a female hiring bias. Management Science, 64(7), 2973–2994. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2756
Dammert, A. C., Galdo, J., & Galdo, V. (2015). Integrating mobile phone technologies into labor-market intermediation: A multi-treatment experimental design. IZA Journal of Labor & Development, 4, Article 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40175-015-0033-7
de Chaisemartin, C., & D'Haultfoeuille, X. (2020). Two-way fixed effects estimators with heterogeneous treatment effects. American Economic Review, 110(9), 2964–2996. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20181169
Dehejia, R. H., & Wahba, S. (2002). Propensity score-matching methods for nonexperimental causal studies. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 84(1), 151–161. https://doi.org/10.1162/003465302317331982
DiPrete, T. A., & Gangl, M. (2004). Assessing bias in the estimation of causal effects: Rosenbaum bounds on matching estimators and instrumental variables estimation with imperfect instruments. Sociological Methodology, 34(1), 271–310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0081-1750.2004.00154.x
European Commission. (2024). Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (AI Act). Official Journal of the European Union, L 2024/1689.
García-Brazales, J. (2022). Digital intermediation and youth employment in Nigeria: Evidence from Jobberman. Journal of African Economies, 31(4), 425–452.
Gatti, R., Morgandi, M., Grun, R., Brodmann, S., Angel-Urdinola, D., Moreno-Dodson, B., & Mata-Lorenzo, M. (2013). Jobs for shared prosperity: Time for action in the Middle East and North Africa. World Bank.
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Heckman, J. J. (1979). Sample selection bias as a specification error. Econometrica, 47(1), 153–161. https://doi.org/10.2307/1912352
Heckman, J. J., Ichimura, H., & Todd, P. E. (1997). Matching as an econometric evaluation estimator: Evidence from evaluating a job training programme. The Review of Economic Studies, 64(4), 605–654. https://doi.org/10.2307/2971733
Heckman, J. J., Ichimura, H., Smith, J. A., & Todd, P. E. (1998). Characterizing selection bias using experimental data. Econometrica, 66(5), 1017–1098. https://doi.org/10.2307/2999630
Hjort, J., & Poulsen, J. (2019). The arrival of fast internet and employment in Africa. American Economic Review, 109(3), 1032–1079. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20161385
Horton, J. J. (2017). The effects of algorithmic labor market recommendations: Evidence from a field experiment. Journal of Labor Economics, 35(2), 345–385. https://doi.org/10.1086/689213
Imbens, G. W., & Wooldridge, J. M. (2009). Recent developments in the econometrics of program evaluation. Journal of Economic Literature, 47(1), 5–86. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.47.1.5
International Labour Organization. (2024a). Global employment trends for youth 2024: MENA region. ILO.
International Labour Organization. (2024b). Global employment trends for youth 2024: Sub-Saharan Africa. ILO.
International Telecommunication Union. (2024). Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2024. ITU.
Jensen, R. (2012). Do labor market opportunities affect young women's work and family decisions? Experimental evidence from India. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 127(2), 753–792. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjs002
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. (2024). Quarterly labour force report, Q4 2024. KNBS.
Kroft, K., & Pope, D. G. (2014). Does online search crowd out traditional search and improve matching efficiency? Evidence from Craigslist. Journal of Labor Economics, 32(2), 259–303. https://doi.org/10.1086/673374
Kuhn, P., & Mansour, H. (2014). Is internet job search still ineffective? The Economic Journal, 124(581), 1213–1233. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12119
Kuhn, P., & Skuterud, M. (2004). Internet job search and unemployment durations. American Economic Review, 94(1), 218–232. https://doi.org/10.1257/000282804322970779
LaLonde, R. J. (1986). Evaluating the econometric evaluations of training programs with experimental data. American Economic Review, 76(4), 604–620.
López-Acevedo, G., Devoto, F., Morales, M., & Roche Rodriguez, J. (2021). Trapped: High inequality and low growth in the Arab Republic of Egypt. World Bank Publications.
Marinescu, I., & Skandalis, D. (2021). Unemployment insurance and job search behavior. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 136(2), 887–931. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaa037
Mortensen, D. T., & Pissarides, C. A. (1994). Job creation and job destruction in the theory of unemployment. The Review of Economic Studies, 61(3), 397–415. https://doi.org/10.2307/2297896
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS Nigeria). (2024). Nigeria labour force statistics report, Q4 2024. NBS.
Petrongolo, B., & Pissarides, C. A. (2001). Looking into the black box: A survey of the matching function. Journal of Economic Literature, 39(2), 390–431. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.39.2.390
Pissarides, C. A. (2000). Equilibrium unemployment theory (2nd ed.). MIT Press.
Rafkin, C., Shreekumar, A., & Vautrey, P. L. (2024). Algorithmic recommendations and discrimination in African digital labour markets. Journal of Development Economics, 167, Article 103231.
Rekrute. (2025). Rapport annuel sur le marché de l'emploi au Maroc 2024–2025. Rekrute.com.
Rosenbaum, P. R. (2002). Observational studies (2nd ed.). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3692-2
Rosenbaum, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1983). The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika, 70(1), 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/70.1.41
Rosenbaum, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1985). Constructing a control group using multivariate matched sampling methods that incorporate the propensity score. The American Statistician, 39(1), 33–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/00031305.1985.10479383
SimilarWeb. (2025). African digital job platforms traffic analytics report, Q1 2025. SimilarWeb Ltd.
Spence, M. (1973). Job market signaling. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), 355–374. https://doi.org/10.2307/1882010
Statistics South Africa. (2024). Quarterly labour force survey, Q4 2024. StatsSA.
Stevenson, B. (2009). The internet and job search. In D. H. Autor (Ed.), Studies of labor market intermediation (pp. 67–86). University of Chicago Press.
Van Deursen, A. J. A. M., & Van Dijk, J. A. G. M. (2014). The digital divide shifts to differences in usage. New Media & Society, 16(3), 507–526. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444813487959
Wooldridge, J. M. (2007). Inverse probability weighted estimation for general missing data problems. Journal of Econometrics, 141(2), 1281–1301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2007.02.002
Wooldridge, J. M. (2010). Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data (2nd ed.). MIT Press.
World Bank. (2024). Africa's pulse: An analysis of issues shaping Africa's economic future (Vol. 29). World Bank.
Abadie, A., & Imbens, G. W. (2016). Matching on the estimated propensity score. Econometrica, 84(2), 781–807. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA11293
Abebe, G., Caria, S., Fafchamps, M., Falco, P., Franklin, S., & Quinn, S. (2021). Anonymity or distance? Job search and labour market exclusion in a growing African city. The Review of Economic Studies, 88(3), 1279–1310. https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdaa057
Acemoglu, D., & Autor, D. (2011). Skills, tasks and technologies: Implications for employment and earnings. In O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (Eds.), Handbook of labor economics (Vol. 4B, pp. 1043–1171). Elsevier.
African Development Bank. (2023). African economic outlook 2023: Mobilizing private sector financing for climate and green growth in Africa. AfDB.
Agénor, P. R., & El Aynaoui, K. (2003). Labor market policies and unemployment in Morocco: A quantitative analysis (World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 3091). World Bank.
Angrist, J. D., & Pischke, J. S. (2009). Mostly harmless econometrics: An empiricist's companion. Princeton University Press.
Assaad, R., Krafft, C., & Salehi-Isfahani, D. (2018). Does the type of higher education affect labor market outcomes? Evidence from Egypt and Jordan. Higher Education, 75(6), 945–995. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0179-0
Autor, D. H. (2001). Wiring the labor market. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(1), 25–40. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.15.1.25
Banerjee, A., Chandrasekhar, A. G., Duflo, E., & Jackson, M. O. (2020). Using gossips to spread information: Theory and evidence from two randomized controlled trials. The Review of Economic Studies, 86(6), 2453–2490. https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdz008
Barsoum, G. (2019). “Women, work and family”: Educated women's employment decisions and social policies in Egypt. Gender, Work & Organization, 26(7), 895–914. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12285
Bassi, V., & Nansamba, A. (2022). Screening and signalling non-cognitive skills: Experimental evidence from Uganda. The Economic Journal, 132(642), 471–511. https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/ueab071
Beam, E. A. (2016). Do job fairs matter? Experimental evidence on the impact of job-fair attendance. Journal of Development Economics, 120, 32–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2015.11.004
Belot, M., Kircher, P., & Muller, P. (2019). Providing advice to jobseekers at low cost: An experimental study on online advice. The Review of Economic Studies, 86(4), 1411–1447. https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdy059
Boudarbat, B., & Ajbilou, A. (2007). Youth exclusion in Morocco: Context, consequences, and policies (Middle East Youth Initiative Working Paper No. 5). Wolfensohn Center for Development.
Callaway, B., & Sant'Anna, P. H. C. (2021). Difference-in-differences with multiple time periods. Journal of Econometrics, 225(2), 200–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2020.12.001
Card, D., & Krueger, A. B. (1994). Minimum wages and employment: A case study of the fast-food industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. American Economic Review, 84(4), 772–793.
Carranza, E., Garlick, R., Orkin, K., & Rankin, N. (2022). Job search and hiring with limited information about workseekers' skills. American Economic Review, 112(11), 3547–3583. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20200961
Chan, J., & Wang, J. (2018). Hiring preferences in online labor markets: Evidence of a female hiring bias. Management Science, 64(7), 2973–2994. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2756
Dammert, A. C., Galdo, J., & Galdo, V. (2015). Integrating mobile phone technologies into labor-market intermediation: A multi-treatment experimental design. IZA Journal of Labor & Development, 4, Article 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40175-015-0033-7
de Chaisemartin, C., & D'Haultfoeuille, X. (2020). Two-way fixed effects estimators with heterogeneous treatment effects. American Economic Review, 110(9), 2964–2996. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20181169
Dehejia, R. H., & Wahba, S. (2002). Propensity score-matching methods for nonexperimental causal studies. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 84(1), 151–161. https://doi.org/10.1162/003465302317331982
DiPrete, T. A., & Gangl, M. (2004). Assessing bias in the estimation of causal effects: Rosenbaum bounds on matching estimators and instrumental variables estimation with imperfect instruments. Sociological Methodology, 34(1), 271–310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0081-1750.2004.00154.x
European Commission. (2024). Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (AI Act). Official Journal of the European Union, L 2024/1689.
García-Brazales, J. (2022). Digital intermediation and youth employment in Nigeria: Evidence from Jobberman. Journal of African Economies, 31(4), 425–452.
Gatti, R., Morgandi, M., Grun, R., Brodmann, S., Angel-Urdinola, D., Moreno-Dodson, B., & Mata-Lorenzo, M. (2013). Jobs for shared prosperity: Time for action in the Middle East and North Africa. World Bank.
GSMA. (2024). The mobile economy: Sub-Saharan Africa 2024. GSMA Intelligence.
Haut-Commissariat au Plan (HCP Morocco). (2024). Note d'information du HCP sur la situation du marché du travail au T4 2024. HCP.
Heckman, J. J. (1979). Sample selection bias as a specification error. Econometrica, 47(1), 153–161. https://doi.org/10.2307/1912352
Heckman, J. J., Ichimura, H., & Todd, P. E. (1997). Matching as an econometric evaluation estimator: Evidence from evaluating a job training programme. The Review of Economic Studies, 64(4), 605–654. https://doi.org/10.2307/2971733
Heckman, J. J., Ichimura, H., Smith, J. A., & Todd, P. E. (1998). Characterizing selection bias using experimental data. Econometrica, 66(5), 1017–1098. https://doi.org/10.2307/2999630
Hjort, J., & Poulsen, J. (2019). The arrival of fast internet and employment in Africa. American Economic Review, 109(3), 1032–1079. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20161385
Horton, J. J. (2017). The effects of algorithmic labor market recommendations: Evidence from a field experiment. Journal of Labor Economics, 35(2), 345–385. https://doi.org/10.1086/689213
Imbens, G. W., & Wooldridge, J. M. (2009). Recent developments in the econometrics of program evaluation. Journal of Economic Literature, 47(1), 5–86. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.47.1.5
International Labour Organization. (2024a). Global employment trends for youth 2024: MENA region. ILO.
International Labour Organization. (2024b). Global employment trends for youth 2024: Sub-Saharan Africa. ILO.
International Telecommunication Union. (2024). Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2024. ITU.
Jensen, R. (2012). Do labor market opportunities affect young women's work and family decisions? Experimental evidence from India. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 127(2), 753–792. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjs002
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. (2024). Quarterly labour force report, Q4 2024. KNBS.
Kroft, K., & Pope, D. G. (2014). Does online search crowd out traditional search and improve matching efficiency? Evidence from Craigslist. Journal of Labor Economics, 32(2), 259–303. https://doi.org/10.1086/673374
Kuhn, P., & Mansour, H. (2014). Is internet job search still ineffective? The Economic Journal, 124(581), 1213–1233. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12119
Kuhn, P., & Skuterud, M. (2004). Internet job search and unemployment durations. American Economic Review, 94(1), 218–232. https://doi.org/10.1257/000282804322970779
LaLonde, R. J. (1986). Evaluating the econometric evaluations of training programs with experimental data. American Economic Review, 76(4), 604–620.
López-Acevedo, G., Devoto, F., Morales, M., & Roche Rodriguez, J. (2021). Trapped: High inequality and low growth in the Arab Republic of Egypt. World Bank Publications.
Marinescu, I., & Skandalis, D. (2021). Unemployment insurance and job search behavior. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 136(2), 887–931. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaa037
Mortensen, D. T., & Pissarides, C. A. (1994). Job creation and job destruction in the theory of unemployment. The Review of Economic Studies, 61(3), 397–415. https://doi.org/10.2307/2297896
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS Nigeria). (2024). Nigeria labour force statistics report, Q4 2024. NBS.
Petrongolo, B., & Pissarides, C. A. (2001). Looking into the black box: A survey of the matching function. Journal of Economic Literature, 39(2), 390–431. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.39.2.390
Pissarides, C. A. (2000). Equilibrium unemployment theory (2nd ed.). MIT Press.
Rafkin, C., Shreekumar, A., & Vautrey, P. L. (2024). Algorithmic recommendations and discrimination in African digital labour markets. Journal of Development Economics, 167, Article 103231.
Rekrute. (2025). Rapport annuel sur le marché de l'emploi au Maroc 2024–2025. Rekrute.com.
Rosenbaum, P. R. (2002). Observational studies (2nd ed.). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3692-2
Rosenbaum, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1983). The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika, 70(1), 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/70.1.41
Rosenbaum, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1985). Constructing a control group using multivariate matched sampling methods that incorporate the propensity score. The American Statistician, 39(1), 33–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/00031305.1985.10479383
SimilarWeb. (2025). African digital job platforms traffic analytics report, Q1 2025. SimilarWeb Ltd.
Spence, M. (1973). Job market signaling. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), 355–374. https://doi.org/10.2307/1882010
Statistics South Africa. (2024). Quarterly labour force survey, Q4 2024. StatsSA.
Stevenson, B. (2009). The internet and job search. In D. H. Autor (Ed.), Studies of labor market intermediation (pp. 67–86). University of Chicago Press.
Van Deursen, A. J. A. M., & Van Dijk, J. A. G. M. (2014). The digital divide shifts to differences in usage. New Media & Society, 16(3), 507–526. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444813487959
Wooldridge, J. M. (2007). Inverse probability weighted estimation for general missing data problems. Journal of Econometrics, 141(2), 1281–1301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2007.02.002
Wooldridge, J. M. (2010). Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data (2nd ed.). MIT Press.
World Bank. (2024). Africa's pulse: An analysis of issues shaping Africa's economic future (Vol. 29). World Bank.
Published
2026-09-30
How to Cite
ZIDANE, Anas; CHEKROUNI, Djamila.
Digital Recruitment Platforms and Youth Unemployment in Africa: A Microeconometric Analysis of Rekrute and Indeed.
Theoretical and Practical Research in Economic Fields, [S.l.], v. 17, n. 3, p. 712 - 727, sep. 2026.
ISSN 2068-7710.
Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/tpref/article/view/9662>. Date accessed: 03 oct. 2026.
doi: https://doi.org/10.14505/tpref.v17.3(39).07.
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