Social Agenda Issue 53 - EN

More than 7 million Europeans had been looking for a job for more than one year, in the first quarter of 2018: 3% of the EU labour force, down from 5.1% in 2013 but still more than before the financial and economic crisis of 2008. The rate of those unemployed for more than twenty-four months is decreasing too - but at a slower rate, with a risk that unemployment becomes entrenched in the EU. Integration pathway In February 2016, the EU adopted a Recommendation on the integration of the long-term unemployed into the labour market. It lays out an integration pathway to be delivered by a single point of contact: From registering with an employment service and benefiting from an individual in-depth assessment, to signing a job integration agreement. This type of agreement details explicit goals, a timeline and the person’s rights and obligations, as well as what support the service providers must offer to him/her on their journey to employment. The Recommendation also encourages EU countries to develop cooperation with employers, who are key actors in ensuring the long-term unemployed get a job and stay in work. Implementation challenges Turning the Recommendation into reality is challenging, of course. Ensuring that there is a single point of contact requires systematic collaboration between different services. This in turn entails a cultural and organisational shift – which takes time to take hold, as may do developing strong partnerships with employers. To help Member States address these challenges, the European Commission has launched a project with the European Social Fund (ESF) Transnational Platform. Involving seven EU countries, the project will develop support packages of measures that can be transferred to different countries and regions, with the support of the ESF. The packages will address some of the aspects of the 2016 Recommendation. Cultural and organisational shift: Ensuring that there is a single point of contact requires systematic collaboration between different services. Preventing entrenched unemployment Cooperating across services and involving employers to help the long-term unemployed back onto the labour market © Belga Image LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT 8 / SOC I A L AG E NDA / NOV E MB E R 2 0 1 8