We present findings from an at-scale randomized trial of a government program providing public employment services in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with up-to-date vacancy information. Before the program, women with relatively less education searched more narrowly with worse labor market outcomes than...

This Guidance Note was developed to support Public Employment Services in navigating complex decisions involved in digitalizing employment services. As the role of PES evolves with the need to balance expanded mandates with limited resources, digitalization presents an opportunity to strengthen...

We present findings from an at-scale randomized trial of a government program provid- ing public employment services in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with up-to-date vacancy infor- mation. Before the program, women with relatively less education searched more narrowly with worse labor market outcomes...

This article addresses the ethical design of artificial intelligence (AI) in the public sector, with a particular focus on Public Employment Services (PES). While AI is increasingly employed to streamline administrative processes and improve service delivery, its application in employment...

The Public Employment Agency (PEA) helps unemployed to find work and mediates PEA-registered job vacancies to job seekers via vacancy referrals. Using the spatial and temporal variation resulting from the regional roll-out of the Hartz 3 reform we are able to show that Hartz 3, which changed...

Our paper analyzes the role of public employment agencies in job matching, in particular the effects of the restructuring of the Federal Employment Agency in Germany (Hartz III labor market reform) for aggregate matching and unemployment. Based on two microeconomic datasets, we show that the...

Our paper analyzes the role of public employment agencies in job matching, in particular the effects of the restructuring of the Federal Employment Agency in Germany (Hartz III labor market reform) for aggregate matching and unemployment. Based on two microeconomic datasets, we show that the...

In a randomised controlled trial in Austria, lowering caseloads for caseworkers in a Public Employment Office led to more meetings with unemployed clients, more job offers, more programme assignments, and more sanctions for noncompliance with job search requirements. It shortened unemployment...

Our paper analyzes the role of public employment agencies in job matching, in particular the effects of the restructuring of the Federal Employment Agency in Germany (Hartz III labor market reform) for aggregate matching and unemployment. Based on two microeconomic datasets, we show that the...

Economic growth and job creation remain key challenges for Jordan, where the economy has only grown by an annual average of 2.5 percent over the past decade. Unemployment is persistently high (22.3 percent in 2023), particularly for youth (46.1 percent). Women, too, face significant structural...

A greener economy will require the development of new skillsets as well as support for workers, jobseekers and employers to manage job-to job transitions. Thus, most importantly, the green transition is expected to have a major impact on changing skills requirements. This Toolkit supports Public...

In 2005, displaced workers in Finland with at least three years of work history were given the option to enroll in a Re-employment Program. Participants met with a caseworker at the beginning of their unemployment and drafted an employment plan. In return, they became eligible for higher...

Using a unique combination of Austrian administrative data, we show that start-ups' search and hiring decisions matter for their business success. Firms that report vacancies to the Public Employment Service in the early stage of their existence stay longer in the market and grow stronger....

Despite their importance for the success of firms, the job prospects of the unemployed and overall unemployment, the factors that determine firms' decisions to report vacancies to the Public Employment Service and to hire the unemployed are largely unexplored. We address this research gap by...

Searching for jobs is challenging, and online platforms now often offer tailored job recommendations. In a randomized controlled trial with over 1,250 participants, we evaluate recommendations based on prior experience or based on skill profiles assessed at study enrolment. We find that, on...

This paper presents an overview of the key themes discussed in the 2024 PES Network Stakeholder Conference on 'Rethinking support for those furthest from the labour market'. The conference showcased new and effective approaches for (re-)integrating jobseekers furthest from the labour market,...

This Thematic Paper builds on the Thematic Review Workshop that took place in Greece in October 2024 as part of the PES Network activities exploring the critical role of labour market and skills intelligence (LMSI) for PES. It highlights the importance of understanding the dynamics between skill...

This paper is a survey report based on two surveys launched in 2024 within the PES Network. It presents an overview and takes stock of how PES collaborate with external providers to deliver their services and new trends in those collaborations, without evaluating or comparing the impact and...

Digitization has spurred interest in the potential of statistical profiling to improve the targeting of active labor market policies. Despite growing adoption, empirical evidence on the effectiveness of such profiling in program allocation is scarce. We evaluate a semi-automated statistical...

This study estimates and decomposes recruitment elasticity, a key measure of employer market power, across job-matching stages using data from Japan's largest job-matching intermediary. On average, recruitment elasticity is negative but not statistically significantly different from zero....

This paper evaluates a hiring subsidy for lower-educated youths in Flanders (Belgium) that reduced labour costs by approximately 13% for a period of two years, starting in 2016. Using a donut Regression Discontinuity Design, we find no evidence that the subsidy improved the job finding rate of...

This paper examines how caseworkers influence job finding rates and job quality. To rule out selection effects, I exploit that caseworkers are assigned based on the jobseekers’ month of birth in some offices of the Austrian public employment service. Combining administrative data on...

This paper examines how caseworkers influence job finding rates and job quality. To rule out selection effects, I exploit that caseworkers are assigned based on the jobseekers' month of birth in some offices of the Austrian public employment service. Combining administrative data on caseworkers...

Die vorliegende Studie fragt nach Herkunft, Bedeutung und Auswirkung der Bezeichnung "Totalverweigerer", die ursprünglich von Bundesarbeitsminister Hubertus Heil für Grundsicherungsbeziehende, die mehrfach die Aufnahme einer Erwerbsarbeit verweigern, verwendet wurde. Ende März 2024 wurde dann...

This paper examines if active labor market programs help unemployed job seekers find jobs using a novel random caseworker instrumental variable (IV) design. Leveraging administrative data from Denmark, our identification strategy exploits that (i) job seekers are quasi-randomly assigned to...

"This book offers a comprehensive exploration of the ongoing digital transformation of public employment services (PES) - the most radical remaking of the welfare state in a generation.As PES shift from analogue to fully digitised services, this volume bridges the gap between technology, policy...

Our paper aims at improving the understanding for the role of public employment agencies in job matching. We analyze the effects of the restructuring of the Federal Employment Agency in Germany (Hartz III labor market reform) for aggregate matching and unemployment. Based on two microeconomic...

Our paper analyzes the role of public employment agencies in job matching, in particular the effects of the restructuring of the Federal Employment Agency in Germany (Hartz III labor market reform) for aggregate matching and unemployment. Based on two microeconomic datasets, we show that the...

Our paper analyzes the role of public employment agencies in job matching, in particular the effects of the restructuring of the Federal Employment Agency in Germany (Hartz III labor market reform) for aggregate matching and unemployment. Based on two microeconomic datasets, we show that the...

The Annual Report covers activities from January to December 2024, in line with Article 6 of the Decision establishing the PES Network. In 2024, the Network delivered a full programme of Mutual Learning activities, with 17 mutual learning events and 20 learning resources. Benchlearning...

We assess the impact of discrimination on Black individuals’ job networks across the U.S. using a two-stage field experiment with 400+ fictitious LinkedIn profiles. In the first stage, we vary race via AI-generated images only and find that Black profiles’ connection requests are 13 percent...

The annual PES Capacity Report forms an integral part of the Work Programme of the European Network of Public Employment Services (PES Network). It provides an overview and analysis of the main trends in the development of Public Employment Services (PES). The main source of information for this...

In 2023, the Work Programme of the PES Network was implemented in a rapidly changing context. While unemployment remained close to historically low levels throughout most of 2023 (6% in the EU27 in September 2023), labour and skills shortages grew across many sectors, and SMEs most notably...