Integrating the Long-Term Unemployed into the Job Market : Synthesis of International Experience and Implications for Kosovo
Long-term unemployment has been a persisting problem in Europe since the 2008 economic crisis. Long-term unemployment is widespread across Europe, with Southern European countries most heavily affected (e.g. in Greece, the share of long-term unempl...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/246171592884930572/Integrating-the-Long-Term-Unemployed-into-the-Job-Market-Synthesis-of-international-experience-and-implications-for-Kosovo-Technical-Note http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34177 |
| Summary: | Long-term unemployment has been a
persisting problem in Europe since the 2008 economic crisis.
Long-term unemployment is widespread across Europe, with
Southern European countries most heavily affected (e.g. in
Greece, the share of long-term unemployed out of the total
number of unemployed accounted for 70 percent in 2018). The
composition of a country’s long-term unemployed (LTU)
population can be very heterogeneous, however, there are
oftentimes similarities across countries. Lower levels of
education and outdated skills are typical characteristics of
long-term unemployed. Older workers, migrant workers, ethnic
minorities, as well as people with health problems or
disabilities are also more vulnerable to long-term
unemployment. Many long-term unemployed face multiple
barriers to labor market integration. International
experience suggests that intensive and comprehensive
approaches are needed to effectively support the long-term
unemployed. The European Union (EU) has put in place a
‘Recommendation on the integration of the long-term
unemployed (LTU) into the labor market’ highlighting the
need for prevention, individualized support and partnerships
with employers and other institutions to effectively support
this group. Single, isolated measures (e.g. training or
wage-subsidies alone) tend to be ineffective. While there is
an increasing interest to serve the long-term unemployed in
Kosovo (e.g. social assistance beneficiaries), structures
and resources of the Employment Agency of Kosovo (EARK) will
need to be strengthened to effectively support this target
group. Current structures and resources (e.g. in terms of
caseload of counselors) are not suited to provide the
intensive support the long-term unemployed require. In order
to build its capacity to serve the LTU, EARK may need to
consider a mix of short-term strategies (incl. partnerships
with non-public providers to overcome internal capacity
constraints) and medium and long-term strategies (i.e. build
capacity, increase resources, and experiment with tailored
intervention strategies). |
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