Sweden has a strong labour market, which is still characterised by major problems. The proportion of the unemployed who are far removed from the labour market are increasing, while the lack of manpower with the necessary expertise rises.
Arbetsmarknadsutredningen has commissioned to submit proposals on how society’s resources should be used as efficiently as possible to achieve a well-functioning labour market.
When the investigation in the day of the submission of its final report ”Effectively, clearly and accurately – the state commitment for the future labour market” finds that comprehensive reforms are necessary to achieve the objectives in the report’s title.
How the employment service works is important, but the challenges are much bigger than that. The analysis by the commission shows considerable weaknesses in the form of a transparent system with a clear responsibility that characterize the society, the entire chain of commitments.
the Shortcomings are, at all levels, from government to the proceedings in the meeting with the job seekers. Many players without sharply defined responsibility leads to duplication, inefficiency, and risk of job seekers falling through the cracks. The government’s management of employment services – regardless of their political colour – have through the years been characterised by a high level of detail, short-termism and hiccups. Labour market policy appears to be that all of the governments of the favourite, which has resulted in a bad from scraps patchwork of missions for the employment service.
the Inquiry has also identified a rättsosäker and ineffective control of the remuneration system in the event of unemployment, an unclear division of responsibilities between the state and the municipality, and not least the need for an overall policy for the provision of skills.
the Lack of a long-term focus has, in turn, led to difficulties to follow up the measures that are effective. The inquiry has also noted an imperfect cost – and follow-up, insufficient efficiency through technology development and a lack of cost pressure in the authority. Overall, this leads to obvious difficulties to decide which labour market measures are efficient and accurate in the long term.
the Investigation has also identified a rättsosäker and ineffective control of the remuneration system in the event of unemployment, an unclear division of responsibilities between the state and the municipality and, not least, the need for a comprehensive kompetensförsörjningspolitik.
the Commission’s analysis results in a series of proposals for actions with an effective and accurate use of the resources of society as the goal, with the focus on those most in need of support.
• Employment conditions to do the right things in the most effective way to improve through extended powers to develop the business, stable planning conditions and a clear cost pressures.
• commission of Inquiry proposes that the authority receives a new instruction , and that its administrative resources are lowered continuously.
Resources must be guided to the actions that produce the greatest effect and where is the assessment of the job-seekers ‘ needs central.
• the employment service is therefore not given an explicit mandate to assess the jobseekers ‘ distance to the labour market by arbetsmarknadsbedömningen becomes a core task.
• the Employment use of the training to be clarified, and the focus on the efforts that are tailored to employers ‘ specific recruitment needs . Regular training should be used to a greater extent.
Arbetsmarknadsutredningen notes that the Swedish and the international research does not provide support to private providers of labour market services, achieve better results than public.
Already today the buying public employment service labour market services of external providers for the five to six billion annually, corresponding to approximately 60 per cent of the Employment total verksamhetskostnad.
the commission believes that the added value that the external operator contributes with in relation to to perform the corresponding operations in-house need to be identified.
• the employment office is therefore mandated to provide a uniform and utförarneutralt range of labour market services , which shall be provided in the socially most efficient way and where the internal and external performers are treated equally.
• to come to grips with the problems in the compensation schemes in case of unemployment suggests the investigation of two options, both of which means that the work with the support of the respective control are separated. Either separated and improved the Employment service work with the control or passes the responsibility to the unemployment funds.
• the division of Responsibilities and the delineation between the state and the municipality of , within the ministry of labour and social policy areas is made clear in the constitution.
• the Inquiry therefore proposes that a new national authority, overall responsibility for kompetensförsörjningspolitiken. the Authority shall be responsible to coordinate and promote kompetensförsörjningsarbetet and be an advisory body to the government and other relevant authorities. As a starting point for the agency’s work to a national strategy for kompetensförsörjningspolitik be produced in cooperation between the political leadership of the ministries concerned, labour market representatives and other relevant stakeholders.
Finally, assessing the Arbetsmarknadsutredningen that, overall, the proposals represent a savings of approximately sek 1.5 billion. The benefits of ”An effective, clear and accurate” state commitment for the future labour market, however, is much larger than that.
With the changes the report proposes, we have the opportunity to achieve that society’s resources are used where they do the most good, and a labour market where people’s abilities and opportunities to be taken.
