The programme supported the Europe 2020 strategy and in particular the flagship initiatives “European platform against poverty and social Exclusion” and “An agenda for new skills and new jobs”. It aimed to tackle dramatic increases in unemployment following the crisis.

It is consistent with the Employment Guidelines and with several EU instruments, such as European Social Fund (ESF) activities to increase employment for the disadvantaged. Furthermore, the European Commission’s Communication “Towards a job rich recovery” (April 2012) addresses the issue of employment in the post-crisis period.

The economic crisis affected Latvia more than most EU countries. In the second quarter of 2009, the unemployment rate exceeded 17%, and at the beginning of 2010 the unemployment rate had almost reached 21% with the increase itself being very sharp.

In addition to the high unemployment rates, a significant share of the unemployed was not entitled to unemployment benefits. Due to a reform implemented prior to the crisis, people who had contributed for less than twenty years to the social insurance were eligible for unemployment benefits for a period of maximum 4-6 months. As a result, the share of registered unemployed persons who did not receive unemployment benefits increased from 43% in 2008 to 76% in 2011. During the crisis the duration of unemployment benefits was increased again to 9 months but many people had not managed to acquire the necessary contribution period.

Between 2009 and 2011 a remarkable proportion of low-skilled persons were unemployment (30%). Due to the low qualification level and their ineligibility to unemployment benefits this group was at high risk of entering long-term unemployment and poverty.

To tackle this issue and the worsening scenario the Latvian government implemented a crisis measure to support unemployed people’s income and avoid their exit from the labour market.

The main problem being addressed was the dramatically rising unemployment rates in the context of the economic crisis and the consequences of long-term unemployment for those who were not eligible for unemployed benefits.

Specifically, WWS introduced temporary, labour- intensive public works projects as a short-term crisis response. The measure aimed to offer employment and income support through the crisis and prevent longer term detachment from the labour market.

The overall goal of WWS was activation of unemployed during a period of severe labour market crisis and simultaneously to provide targeted income support to the poorest households and to help registered unemployed, who did not receive unemployment benefits, to keep and perhaps acquire new work related skills. This furthermore had the objective of reducing the psychosocial consequences of unemployment.

The programme offered public works opportunities to the lower-skilled. A key condition was that the works had some kind of social value for the local community and were non-commercial. To avoid potential deadweight effects, by creating jobs that substituted the existing jobs or displaced new job creation, only non-profit organisations were allowed to participate in the programme.

The selection of participants was based on the “first-come, first-served” principle. Workers were assigned to a public works project for a period between two weeks and six months and for 8 hours per day.

Participants received a tax-free monthly stipend of 100 Lats (142 Euro). This corresponded to about 80% of the net minimum wage. In July 2011, the stipend decreased to 80 Lats (114 Euro) per month (corresponding to about 55% of the net minimum wage).

During the course of programme, participants worked in safe conditions, were covered by insurance against work-related accidents, and, if necessary, participated in health check-ups before starting the work.

Public works included:

• Cleaning, improvement and maintenance of public areas (e.g. parks);
• Maintenance of small infrastructure (e.g. trails and benches);
• Environmental cleaning (e.g. rivers, lakes and forests);
• Social services (through civil society organisations).

The WWS programme led to increased labour market participation among unemployed people with no unemployment benefits and participants showed better job finding rates.

According to the World Bank’s evaluation (2012), the WWS programme achieved a good take-up rate of people from poor households and vulnerable groups. Between 2009 and 2011 the programme created more than 110,000 temporary jobs. During the course of the programme participating households increased their incomes by 37% in comparison to similar households that did not participate to the programme. The programme thus had a short-term preventive effect on increasing poverty.

Another evaluation from 2011 showed that:

• 17-20% of the stock of Latvia’s registered unemployed people who were not eligible for benefits were in employment during the programme.
• More than 74,000 participants benefitted from the 83,000 workplaces created by the programme (45% of the beneficiaries participated more than once). This meant that the programme had about 20,000 participants per month, whilst the number of persons on the waiting list was almost double.
• In the six months period after attendance in the programme about 17% of the participants were able to find a job. When also taking into account those who left the programme earlier to enter employment, approximately 22% of participants were able to find a job either during or after participation in the programme.

Additionally, the evaluation results from 2011 showed the following:

• Low-skilled persons close to retirement age were overrepresented in the participants group;
• Participants or people on the waiting list for the programme were from poor background. Their households’ average incomes per capita were 11% below the average spending in the lowest quintile of the population;
• Most participants completed the six months programme;
• 98% of participants considered WWS to be an important safety net; and,
• 67% considered the programme to be “very important”.

According to the 2011 evaluation, the number of participants in the programme indicated that participants considered the WWS programme to be an alternative to emigration or unregistered unemployment.