Active labour market policies

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Active Labour Market Policies to help unemployed people back to work include job placement services, unemployment benefits, and labour market programmes such as training and job creation.

OECD's advocacy of active policies dates back to a 1964 Council Recommendation which set out a broad agenda for investment in adaptation, human resource development, encouraging geographical mobility, regional development, forecasting of future occupational requirements, intensified measures to help marginal groups into employment and the development of income security programmes.

By 1990, as unemployment had risen in many countries, key recommendations included the promotion of a spirit of active job search and better administrative coordination with income maintenance systems, which are now often called "activation" measures.

Over 1993-2001 the OECD conducted in-depth reviews of the Public Employment Service (PES) and related labour market polices in 19 member countries and a number of non-member countries, and published the proceedings of a major conference as Labour Market Policies and the Public Employment Service.

Issues given attention recently include the use of statistical evaluations of programme impact, quasi-market arrangements for the case management of the hard-to-place, employment policies for people on welfare and disability benefits, and policies towards undeclared work.

For further reading ...

Key reports:

• Activating the unemployed: what countries do (2007)
  Further material: Compendium of National Replies to the OECD Questionnaire on Interventions in the Unemployment Spell
• Activation Strategies and the Performance of Employment Services in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (2006)
• From inactivity to work: The role of active labour market policies (2006)
• Labour market programmes and activation strategies: evaluating the impacts (2005)
• Public employment services: managing performance (2005)
• Benefits and Employment, Friend or Foe? Interactions Between Passive and Active Social Programmes (2003)

Country reviews:

Statistics:

• Access the online database on Public expenditure and participant stocks on LMP

Websites:

• Employment policy related websites