A report by a committee of MSPs examined initiatives to improve employability, such as modern apprenticeships and work and training places. It said that early private sector involvement was vital if employment initiatives were to succeed.
Source: Improving Employability, 8th Report 2012, SP Paper 226, Scottish Parliament Finance Committee
Links: Report | Scottish Parliament press release
Date: 2012-Dec
A paper examined the impact of the global economic recession on labour market policy reforms in six European Union member states (including the United Kingdom). In the first phase of the crisis, all the countries had expanded their labour market policy efforts. As the crisis deepened, however, there was a clear bifurcation between those states that had stepped up structural reforms intended to reduce labour market segmentation and those that had turned to a more aggressive agenda of retrenchment.
Source: Jochen Clasen, Daniel Clegg, and Jon Kvist, European Labour Market Policies in (the) Crisis, Working Paper 2012.12, European Trade Union Institute
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Dec
A new book examined how far standard work full-time, permanent employment for a single employer continued to influence labour law structures in several representative European Union member states (including the United Kingdom). It considered whether member states were actively dismantling legal structures built up around standard work and, if so, what was driving this, and what the effects of such changes might be.
Source: Jan Buelens and John Pearson (eds), Standard Work: An Anachronism?, Intersentia
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Nov
A think-tank report examined some of the main policy challenges that would confront a future Labour government. Separate chapters dealt with economic policy, employment policy, public services, and social care funding.
Source: Graeme Cooke, Patrick Diamond, and Steve Van Riel, Purple Papers: Real Change for Britain, Real Choices for Labour, Progress
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Oct
A collection of essays provided an overview of the debate on the future of work. Contributors considered recent trends in the labour market; how to promote full employment; how to improve training and skills; and how to improve pay levels. Other issues raised included the right balance between flexibility and security, the appropriate treatment of the self-employed as against the employed, and the role of trade unions.
Source: New Forms of Work, Fabian Society
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Oct
A think-tank report examined the labour market impact and implications of the cuts already planned and implemented in the public service workforce. Despite the unprecedented scale, pace, and focus of the cuts, a lack of overall workforce planning meant that the longer-term implications for the labour market, women's employment, regional balance, and the skills of the public sector workforce were almost impossible to predict. In that sense the government was 'flying blind'.
Source: Ian Brinkley, Public Loss, Private Gain?, Work Foundation
Links: Report | Work Foundation press release
Date: 2012-Oct
A paper said that although the severity of the crisis might have triggered a major rethink of the European labour market policies of the pre-crisis decade, it appeared not to have done so. Some of the most egregious policy errors seemed to have been avoided, and decision-makers had shown imagination in making use of the flexicurity toolkit to mitigate the effects on the labour market of economic stagnation. Indeed, member states that had accepted the need for social investment were now seeing returns from that investment. Some member states were now at a precarious point where the need for far-reaching reform (not least in the labour market) was acknowledged and pressing – but the means to effect it were lacking.
Source: Iain Begg, EU Labour Markets in Flux: Why flexibility alone is not enough, Policy Brief 12/01, NEUJOBS Research Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Oct
A new book examined the development of the European Union's 'flexicurity' concept. Flexicurity was an important part of the Europe 2020 strategy and the flagship agenda for new skills and jobs, and was seen as an alternative to one-sided liberalization tendencies.
Source: Sonja Bekker, Flexicurity: The emergence of a European concept, Intersentia
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Oct
A report examined how a more systematic approach could be taken to promoting innovation in the jobs market. To date a set of policy approaches had focused on supporting individuals into work through supply-side labour market programmes: but these had been effective only in part, and had reached a point of diminishing returns. It was clearly not enough to rely on the Work Programme as the sole source of innovation in this field. More systematic innovation across many parts of the labour market system was needed; to create new jobs markets, to support self-employment, and to develop new and more effective ways of linking individuals to work.
Source: Jo Casebourne and Nick Coleman, Making it Work: Tackling worklessness through innovation, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts
Date: 2012-Oct
A report provided a comprehensive review of recent European research on new skills and jobs. It said that equal access to education (especially at an early stage of life) and continuous vocational training for all were the first priorities for raising employment levels in a sustainable way. This strategy needed to be complemented by a labour market policy that supported a high variability of employment contracts, allowing job-to-job transitions within and between firms according to market needs and individual lifecourse conditions.
Source: Gunther Schmid, New Skills and Jobs in Europe: Pathways towards full employment, European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Aug
A paper provided an overview of the analysis underlying the setting of a new overall employment rate target for 2020 as part of the Europe 2020 strategy, including the reference population to be covered as well as the appropriate value for the target. It also summarized the subsequent analysis carried out to investigate possible approaches to translate the common target into specific targets for individual member states.
Source: Joao Medeiros and Paul Minty, Analytical Support in the Setting of EU Employment Rate Targets for 2020, Working Paper 01/2012, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion, European Commission
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined policy responses to labour market disadvantage, and the extent to which they could help or hinder people's efforts to sustain employment. Policy responses needed to go beyond their almost exclusive focus of getting people into work, and instead give greater priority to promoting sustainable transitions into employment. There was a need for a more sophisticated funding and evaluation framework for contracting-out provision, and for steps to combat the unsustainable nature of the jobs that many jobseekers were restricted to.
Source: David McCollum, 'Towards (un)sustainable employment? Exploring policy responses to work-welfare cycling', Policy Studies, Volume 33 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
A paper examined the effects of labour market institutions on unemployment in 19 developed (OECD) countries for the period 1960-2000, allowing for heterogeneous effects of institutions on unemployment. It was found that, on average, unemployment was increased in the presence of tighter employment protection, a higher tax burden on labour income, and a more generous unemployment insurance system – whereas a higher centralization of wage negotiations decreased unemployment. The strength of the effects differed considerably between countries.
Source: Horst Rottmann and Gebhard Flaig, Labour Market Institutions and Unemployment: An international comparison, Discussion Paper 31, University of Applied Sciences Amberg-Weiden (Germany)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Apr
A report examined evidence on the shape of labour markets in developed economies. Since the early 1990s there had been sustained growth in high-wage, analytical, non-routine jobs; an expansion of manual, lower-wage jobs; and a contraction of routine, middle-wage jobs – creating an 'hourglass-shaped' labour market. If the United Kingdom were to remain globally competitive it would need a greater proportion of graduates in its workforce, together with genuine progression opportunities to drive social mobility.
Source: The Way We ll Work: Labour market trends and preparing for the hourglass, University Alliance
Date: 2012-Apr
The European Commission proposed a package of measures aimed at boosting employment growth. It urged member states to strengthen their national employment policies. In particular it urged support for hiring subsidies that created new jobs, a (budget-neutral) tax shift from labour to environmental taxes, and support for self-employment. It also called for measures to exploit the potential for employment growth in the 'green' economy.
Source: Towards a Job-Rich Recovery, European Commission
Links: Communication | European Commission press release | EC guide | ETUC press release
Date: 2012-Apr
A new book examined developments in employment policy in Europe, focusing on vocational training, life course policies, reflexive labour law, and social insurance. It offered a reform agenda based on easing transitions in employment and promoting the development of individual and collective capabilities.
Source: Ralf Rogowski, Robert Salais, and Noel Whiteside (eds.), Transforming European Employment Policy: Labour market transitions and the promotion of capability, Edward Elgar Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Mar
A think-tank report (by Labour's Shadow Minister for Work) examined options for a new job guarantee scheme for young and/or long-term unemployed people. It said that the 'welfare' system should be built around work. There was a need to renew the 'something for something' bargain that marked the post-war blueprint for social security. Working people paid a lot into the system, but too often felt that they get very little back. A job guarantee could play an important part in achieving a new settlement.
Source: Stephen Timms MP, Job Guarantee: A right and responsibility to work, Smith Institute
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined the interrelationship of labour law and employment policy at European Union level in the light of recent political and legal developments.
Source: Lisa Rodgers, 'Labour law and employment policy in the EU: conflict or consensus?', International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations, Volume 27 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the City Strategy initiative, designed to tackle local concentrations of worklessness by promoting innovation within a framework of institutional complexity. It concluded that structural reform to provide institutional coherence might be a prerequisite of successful sub-national policy development.
Source: Anne Green and Michael Orton, 'Policy innovation in a fragmented and complex multilevel governance context: worklessness and the City Strategy in Great Britain', Regional Studies, Volume 46 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb