This working paper reports on the work undertaken as part of the Tackling Long-term Unemployment Amongst Vulnerable Groups project. It includes the findings of a survey undertaken jointly by the OECD LEED Programme and the World Association of Public Employment Services in 2012, and also case studies and learning models from around the world on innovative practices to support the long-term unemployed into work.

The creation of innovative new firms and the development of SME innovation are strongly influenced by the extent to which localities offer environments that favour the transfer of knowledge to local business and provide the other resources required for innovative firm development, including skills, finance, advice, and supply chain partners.

The OECD and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) will publish updated G20 labour market data on Wednesday 17 July 2013 ahead of the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers meeting in Moscow.

Unemployment in OECD countries will remain high through 2014, with young people and the low-skilled hit hardest, according to a new OECD report.

Joint statement by ILO Director-General Guy Ryder and OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría on the occasion of the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting, Moscow, 18-19 July 2013

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to restoring inclusive growth, jobs and trust. Macroeconomic, structural policies and labour activation strategies are all required. The G20 process can play a pivotal role in helping countries identify effective policies and implement them, said Angel Gurría

While unemployment is gradually declining in the United States, Mexico and Japan, it is increasing in the Euro area. In emerging economies, tackling low paid employment in insecure jobs with little social protection remains a key challenge.

As part of the OECD LEED project on university support for entrepreneurship in eastern Germany, undertaken in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Regional Development, this handbook presents highlights of results of a series of case studies and a university survey.

Many areas like Manisa suffer from a local lack of sophisticated demand in terms of expressed SME requirements. This leaves considerable scope for demand and supply side initiatives set within KOSGEB’s framework that will assist in shaping intervention and promoting a coherent approach to SME development.

Ireland’s economy is now showing encouraging signs of recovery from the financial crisis, but more must be done to reinvigorate growth and create the jobs that will get the country back to full health, according to the OECD.

This book focuses on the role of employment and training agencies in contributing to job creation and productivity in Northern Ireland. It explores how Northern Ireland is implementing labour market and skills policy and putting measures in place at the local level to stimulate quality employment, inclusion and growth.

Endorsing the OECD’s Action Plan for Youth at the OECD’s annual Ministerial Meeting in Paris in May 2013, ministers underlined the need to focus attention on the most disadvantaged youth.

The low-skilled are more likely than others to be unemployed, have bad health and earn much less, according to the first OECD Survey of Adult Skills. Countries with greater inequality in skills proficiency also have higher income inequality.

There is no simple remedy for fixing the post-crisis global economy. But three key ingredients for sustainable long-term growth are jobs, equality and trust, said OECD Secretary-General in Washington.

Brazil’s strong economic growth has helped cut the youth unemployment rate over the past decade to levels below those of most OECD countries. Increased investment in education and vocational training is also helping young people get a foot in the jobs market, according to a new OECD report.

Two rounds of the Survey of Adult Skills are under way: Round 1 (2008-13) with 24 participating countries, whose results were released in October 2013, and Round 2 (2012-16) with 9 participating countries, whose results will be released in 2016. A third round is scheduled to begin in May 2014.

Spain has taken courageous steps to strengthen its labour market. Recent reforms have helped create jobs and should further boost competitiveness and employment in the years to come. But additional efforts are needed to boost competition in product markets and to improve assistance to job seekers, particularly young people, according to a new OECD report.

This LEED project aims to to define key indicators of area-based transition to a low-carbon economy. The objective is to define measurable indicators at regional/local level that can inform over time of transition to low-carbon economic and industrial activities.

The last decade has seen considerable policy attention to the social economy and its contribution to employment, in particular as regards the inclusion and empowerment of vulnerable workers and the provision of appropriate working conditions.

Switzerland needs to do more to help people with mental disorders find a job or stay in work, according to a new OECD report.

This report on seeks to provide guidance on the design and delivery of a Youth Guarantee in Ireland based on the experience of other countries in designing guarantees or other comprehensive policy packages to help youth find productive and rewarding employment.

Older Workers - PP presentation France

Promoting quality employment for older workers is crucial to boosting growth and ensuring a financially sustainable pension system, according to a new OECD report on ageing and employment policies in France.

Slower growth in key markets like China and India is reducing momentum across the Australian economy, cutting into employment opportunities and putting more pressure on the government to ensure that public policy delivers optimal results for growth and job creation.

Mental health issues cost the UK around GBP 70 billion every year, or roughly 4.5% of GDP, in lost productivity at work, benefit payments and health care expenditure.

LEED and Cedefop organise the second edition of the Green Skills Forum which will bring together experts in innovation, employability and skills development and lessons from work conducted by the OECD, Cedefop, and other organisations on the implications of the green economy for skills development and training policies.

This conference on 9 April 2014 will provide an opportunity for a mutual sharing of good practice in fostering the better insertion of youth into the labour market through the development of quality apprenticeships. It would also seek to foster a greater commitment by countries to take action to introduce or strengthen apprenticeship initiatives and to take stock of the progress achieved.

Encouraging more people to work later in life would help the Netherlands meet its growing challenges of a rapidly ageing population and rising social spending, according to a new OECD report.

Closer collaboration between local employment, training, and economic development agencies to develop the right skills in jobseekers is crucial to support export-oriented growth in Northern Ireland, according to a new OECD report.

The Irish government has taken resolute action to address the unemployment challenge, launching the Action Plan for Jobs (APJ) initiative in early 2012. Drawing on the expertise and experience of OECD member countries, this preliminary review examines key aspects of the Action Plan for Jobs and highlights some key policy priorities to boost job creation.

In partnership with the Swedish Public Employment Service, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), Swedish Ministry of Employment and the World Association of Public Employment Services (WAPES), LEED held the 10th Annual Meeting of the Forum on Partnerships and Local Development in Stockholm 23 April – 25 April, on the theme of ‘job creation just ahead: building adaptable labour markets’.

Canada has experienced solid economic growth since the global crisis, allowing it to reverse recession-induced job losses and put federal public finances on a sound footing, says the OECD. Growth is expected to accelerate from 2.5% this year to 2.7% in 2015.

This report examines the sustainability of social institutions and their ability to absorb and cope with short-term shocks and longer-term trends by providing risk sharing and expenditure smoothing, focusing on pension, health care and unemployment insurance schemes.

The UK labour market weathered the recent recession moderately well. After a relatively limited fall, total employment recovered and it recently reached 30 million for the first time, even if a number of the new jobs created are low productivity and low paid.

A series of short reports aimed at policy makers examine issues and policies instruments related to inclusive entrepreneurs policy. The key message of these briefs is that there is under-exploited potential among entrepreneurs from non-mainstream groups and that there are many examples of specially tailored policies that are successful in increasing participation that can serve as models for others.

Unemployment will remain well above its pre-crisis levels next year in most OECD countries, despite modest declines over the rest of 2014 and in 2015, according to a new OECD report.

Switzerland has high employment rates and low unemployment. The overall employment rate remained stable since the start of the crisis and stands at 79% (first quarter of 2014), the second highest in the OECD after Iceland, well above the OECD average of 65.6%. As for unemployment, among OECD countries only Japan, Korea, and Norway have lower unemployment rates.

Unemployment rose substantially in the Slovak Republic as a result of the crisis and has only declined slowly since reaching a peak of 14.8% of the labour force in early 2010. At 13.3% in August 2014, the unemployment rate remains one of the highest among developed countries and is twice as high as the OECD average.

Hungary was hit harder by the global crisis than most OECD countries. Unemployment reached record levels at the peak of the crisis but has since recovered to its pre-crisis level around the current OECD average of 8%.

Poland’s employment rate at 61% (Q2 2014) remains well below the OECD average but, in contrast to many other countries, it has increased slowly since the onset of the economic crisis (from 57.9% in Q1 2007).

A large and persistent shortfall in the number and quality of the jobs being created in G20 countries is affecting prospects for re-igniting economic growth, according to a report prepared by the ILO, the OECD and the World Bank Group for the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers meeting taking place in Melbourne this week.

India’s economic growth has slowed since 2010 in the aftermath of the global crisis, but growth is expected to pick up according to the May 2014 projections of the OECD Economic Outlook. The unemployment rate was 3.6% in 2012 in India, lower than in 2006 (4.4%) before the onset of the global financial crisis.

The South African labour market continues to perform poorly compared to OECD and other G20 countries, and the global financial crisis appears to have worsened the situation.

The unemployment rate in Indonesia continues to trend downwards. At 5.7% in Q1 2014, Indonesia’s unemployment rate is considerably below the levels observed in 2007 (above 9%). It is also now well below the OECD average of 7.4%.

The unemployment rate in Brazil continues its downward trend, despite a slowdown in GDP growth. At 4.9% (for urban areas), Brazil’s unemployment rate is considerably below the OECD average of 7.4%.

How can governments ensure that migration and free movement of workers contribute to meeting the labour market shortages that are expected to arise over the next 50 years? How can societies better use the skills of their migrants? What lessons can non-European OECD countries offer Europe, particularly regarding labour migration management? “Matching economic migration with labour market needs” addresses these questions.

The OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurria, congratulates Prime Minister Renzi on the passing by the Italian Senate of a bill enabling the government to elaborate a comprehensive reform of the labour market – the so-called Jobs Act.

Korea has made significant progress towards decentralising the management of employment and training programmes, but can still do more to create stronger links with employers at the local level, according to a new OECD report.

Switzerland should do more to help older people, especially women, work longer in order to meet the challenge of a rapidly ageing population, according to a new OECD report.

Both generic and specialised ICT skills are becoming an important requirement for employment across the economy as the Internet becomes more engrained in work processes, but a significant part of the population lacks the basic skills necessary to function in this new environment. This paper examines the impact of the Internet on the labour market in this context.