launch connecting people with jobs: slovenia
TRANSCRIPT
Connecting People with JobsSlovenia
Mark PearsonDeputy Director of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs OECD
2
The OECD’s review of activation and labour market policies in Slovenia
Presented at the conference QUALITY JOBS FOR ALLby the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
Brdo, 28 October 2016
Contents Key labour market outcomes in Slovenia:
tackling some long-standing issues The OECD’s assessment and recommendations Summary: Most important areas for change in Slovenia
Connecting People with Jobs: Slovenia
KEY LABOUR MARKET OUTCOMES IN SLOVENIA: TACKLING SOME LONG-STANDING ISSUES
4
Employment rates fell sharply after 2008, recovered from 2014, but are still low for some groups
Note: OECD and EU22 are weighted averages. EU22 includes all EU countries which are also OECD members.Source: OECD Labour Force Statistics database.
Employment rates significantly declined for young adults (<30 years); losses for prime-age workers (30-54 years) were less pronounced
For older workers (55-64 years) the employment rate in 2015 was higher than in 2008, but it is still the third lowest in the OECD
Poor labour market outcomes also for low-skilled people: Low employment rates, high unemployment rates and many have withdrawn from the labour market
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
56
58
60
62
64
66
68
70
56
58
60
62
64
66
68
70
Slovenia OECD
Employment rates, persons aged 15-64
% %
5
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Slovenia OECD EU22
Unemployment declines, but high levels of long-term unemployment reveal structural problems
Note: OECD and EU22 are weighted averages. EU22 includes all EU countries which are also OECD members.Source: OECD Labour Force Statistics database.
Following rising unemployment, long-term unemployment (12 months and more) increased from 2010
In 2015, slightly more than one in two jobseekers have been unemployed for more than a year
The global financial crisis resulted in jobs being wiped out by firms closing or down-sizing (i.e. displacements)
Dismissal rates in Slovenia in 2013 were still three times higher than prior to the recession
Unemployment rates, persons aged 15-64
%
6
Expir
y of f
ixed-
term
cont
ract
Disp
lacem
ent
Othe
r and
unk
nown
Yout
h (1
5-29
)
Prim
e ag
e (3
0-49
)
Olde
r une
mplo
yed
(50+
)
Less
than
12
mon
ths
Mor
e th
an 1
2 m
onth
s
Less
than
upp
erse
cond
ary e
duca
tion
Uppe
r sec
onda
ryed
ucat
ion
Terti
ary e
duca
tion
Recorded inflow reason
By age groups By duration By educational at-tainment
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Registered jobseekers have typically been unemployed for more than a year and many of
them are older and low-skilled
All unemployed people in Slovenia can register with the Employment Service of Slovenia
Large proportions of registered jobseekers are part of the population of special interest in the context of the OECD’s policy review
With the caseload recently declining, the remaining jobseekers are more and more disadvantaged on average
Employment Service of Slovenia caseload by different characteristics, 2015
Source: Employment Service of Slovenia.
THE OECD’s ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
8
Without stricter administration of benefits, welfare dependency may become pervasive
Number of registered jobseekers aged 30+ years (in thousands)
Source: Employment Service of Slovenia.
Despite recent decline in unemployment, number of social assistance and disability benefit recipients continues to increase
Steady increase in disability benefit recipients driven by least disabled
Client stock becomes more disadvantaged: growing share of clients classified as “employable with intensive support”
Although “parking” the disadvantaged may have been a sensible strategy, more attention should now be focused on their activation
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Unemployment insurance recipients Social assistance recipients Partial disability benefit recipients
9
Social Assistance recipients
Occupational protection: ambiguous legal situation
Benefit sanctions are too strict
Reluctance by employment service staff to apply sanctions
Employment service has no control over implementation of sanctions
Partial Disability Benefit recipients
1 in 10 registered jobseekers now fall into this group, up from 1 in 20 in 2005
Establish mutual obligations, which are enforceable
Introduce lower-level sanctions and facilitate their administration
Recipients should be required to undergo occupational rehabilitation
Reconsider and tighten benefit eligibility criteria
10
Activate jobseekers earlier on, especially displaced workers
Unemployment Insurance can be claimed with long
delays; long period of retrospective pay (30 days)
Abolish retrospective pay to incentivise early
registration
Voluntary Employment Service registration for employees following
dismissal
Mandatory Employment Service registration for all employees losing their job
Dismissed workers: within 3 days
of notice
4 weeks before expiry of fixed-term
contract
Job-search during notice period possible, but
employee “pays” (lower pay, shortened benefits)
Give jobseekers better incentives to seek a new job during notice period
(i.e. not shortening benefits)
Target high-risk
individuals
Enable Employment Service of Slovenia to “dig deeper” into the caseload
11
Standardised customer journeys for all client groups
More frequent counselling for harder-to-place jobseekersMore active labour market programme/workshop referrals for older and low-skilled jobseekers
Stronger push towards e-services
Invest to save: Hire more caseworkers
Piloting and evaluating measures and programmes
12
Given benefit generosity, making work pay is important for benefit recipients
Incentives to move off benefit and into work can be weak, particularly for low-wage earners
Example: for a one-earner couple with two children, with assistance benefits and one spouse in a low-paid full-time job, net income increases only by 12% if the other spouse takes up a similar job.
Existing employment subsidies are mainly
targeted at labour demand, but could be expanded to increase
labour supply
Given Slovenia’s compressed wage distribution, such
measures would need to be highly targeted
13
Unemployment benefits
Long benefit payment duration for older unemployed
1 in 3 pensioners retire through unemployment
Seniority allowances
Typically 0.5% per year: increase older-worker wages and labour costs by about 15%
May lock some workers into jobs that no longer suit them
Pension system
Employment rate of elderly (55-64 years) increased from 23% in 2000 to 37% in 2015Full labour market effects of 2012 pension reform unclear due to long transitional period
Keep older workers longer in employment
Abolish special rulesfor elderly in
unemployment system
Continue with pension reform that
promotes longer working lives
Reduce and eventually abolish the seniority bonus
14
Centres for Social Work (CSW)• Managed on the local level, with each of the 62 Centres reporting directly to the
Ministry of Labour;• Pay social assistance and improve the social integration of their clients;• Little focus on labour market activation.
Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS)• Public agency, headquarter reports to Ministry of Labour, 12 regional offices,
59 local offices; • Responsible for all registered jobseekers, including social assistance recipients:
job-brokerage, employment counselling, referrals to active measures;• Furthermore: administration of unemployment insurance benefits, life-long career
guidance, issuing work permits to foreign workers.
Social assistance recipients are clients of two institutions
15
Better connect Employment Service of Slovenia and Centres for Social Work
Formalising co-operation
Integrating IT systems
Merger of ESS and CSW
Introduce performance
management system for CSW
Co-operation between the Employment Service (ESS) and the Centres for Social
Work (CSW) is not formalised
Inconsistent activation of social assistance recipients
Contact on ad-hoc basis
Exception: Commission to
establish provisional non-employability
No central CSW management
No clear enforcement procedures
16
Strengthen the connection between the Employment Service of Slovenia and the
Centres for Social Work
Tackle long-term unemployment by
enforcing job-search requirements, benefit
conditionality and benefit sanctions
Enable the Employment Service of Slovenia to help harder-to-place jobseekers
Make work pay for benefit recipients through lower
taper rates and time-limited into-work benefits
Promote longer working lives through coherent
changes to unemployment, pension and disability
benefit system, as well as the labour law
Summary of OECD’s assessment:Most important areas for change in Slovenia
17
For further information
Please contactMr Christopher PrinzProject leader for Activation Policies OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Phone: +33 1 45 24 94 83Email: [email protected]
Ms Kristine Langenbucher Labour Market EconomistOECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Phone: +33 1 45 24 18 37 Email: [email protected]
For further information on the OECD’s work on activation policies: http://www.oecd.org/employment/emp/activation.htm
Follow us on Twitter: @OECD_Social
Cover image : © Sergio77/Shutterstock.com
