El acceso al mercado de trabajo en la sociedad digital: Uso y valoración de los portales de empleo en internet: Access to the labour market in the digital society. The use and assessment of employment websites

Manuel Martínez-Nicolás; Beatriz Catalina-García; María del Carmen García-Galera

doi:10.4185/rlcs-2025-2316

Authors

Manuel Martínez-Nicolás Universidad Rey Juan Carlos https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3949-2351
Beatriz Catalina-García Rey Juan Carlos University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0464-3225
María del Carmen García-Galera Rey Juan Carlos University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6211-2700

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/rlcs-2025-2316

Keywords:

labour market, employment search, job portals, digital literacy, education gap, generation gap

Abstract

Introduction: The emergence of social networks and online job portals has changed the strategies for accessing the labour market. Although traditional channels continue to be perfectly valid options, such as job agencies, public employment services, corporate websites, personal contacts and others, current evidence suggests that the new digital channels, and specifically platforms that specialise in publishing job offers, are a preferred resource for employers and job seekers. Methodology: This paper analyses the methods used by Spanish adults in searching for employment, with special emphasis on the use and evaluation of digital job portals. To this end, a survey was designed for a representative sample of the population (N=673) between 25 and 54 years of age, who live in the Autonomous Region of Madrid. Results: Approximately 70% of those surveyed had at some point obtained employment through job offers posted on these portals, which confirms the hypothesis of widespread use of these platforms in searching for and finding work. Discussion and conclusions: The results confirm that there is no gender divide nor generation gap with regard to the use of these sites, success in obtaining a job, or the appraisal of digital job portals. Nevertheless, a significant education gap exists, which is probably linked to the lack of digital literacy among the population with low educational levels.

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Author Biographies

Manuel Martínez-Nicolás, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

Professor at the Universities Autónoma de Barcelona (1990-1996), Santiago de Compostela (1996-2003) and, since 2003, at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. He is a member of the Advanced Communication Studies Group, and professor in the Master in Applied Communication Research (URJC). He has been director of the Working Group on History of Communication Research of the Spanish Association of Communication Research (2015-2024), and principal investigator in two projects funded by the State Plan for R+D+i. In the last 10 years he has published about thirty papers in scientific journals (Profesional de la Información, Communication & Society, Revista Internacional de Sociología, Política y Sociedad, Empiria, Telos, Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, among others), and in collective books.

manuel.martinez.nicolas@urjc.es

Índice H: 21

Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3949-2351

Scopus ID: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=55135925700

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=7cc-OLIAAAAJ&hl=es

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Manuel_Martinez_Nicolas

Academia.edu: https://independent.academia.edu/ManuelMartínezNicolás

Beatriz Catalina-García, Rey Juan Carlos University

Professor of the Department of Journalism and Corporate Communication at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. PhD in Communication Sciences from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (2011), Degree in Journalism from UCM (1989), and Degree in Political Science from UNED (2014). She has participated in several competitive projects. She is currently a research member of the National R+D+i Project "Repertorios y prácticas mediáticas en la adolescencia y la juventud: usos, ciberbienestar y vulnerabilidades digitales en redes sociales" (2023-2027). His lines of research are related to Audiences, Digital Communication and Opportunities and risks on the Internet. He has published more than 40 scientific articles in impact journals and more than a dozen book chapters. He has been awarded two six-year research fellowships.

Índice H: 14

Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0464-3225

Scopus ID: https://acortar.link/fXn32g

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=Guzli5AAAAAJ&hl=es

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Beatriz-Catalina-Garcia

Academia.edu: https://urjc.academia.edu/BGarc%C3%ADa

María del Carmen García-Galera, Rey Juan Carlos University

Professor of Journalism (2023) at the Faculty of Communication Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. Principal investigator of the high-performance research group Particypad (2015-). Professor of Audience Research (Journalism) and Strategic Planning of Public Relations (Advertising and Public Relations) Her main lines of research focus on informational disorders and employability of graduates in Communication. Three six-year research periods and more than 50 publications, both in scientific journals indexed in JCR and book chapters widely disseminated in the area of study. Academic Director of the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit of the URJC (2021-), where she organizes, among others, the Science Week or the European Researchers' Night.

Índice H: 21

Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6211-2700

Scopus ID: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=56245822500

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=QrUt7bcAAAAJ&hl=es

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/M-Garcia-Galera/

Academia.edu: https://independent.academia.edu/CarmenGarcíaGalera

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