The labour market recovery in the Netherlands is lagging behind. As of the last quarter of 2015, the unemployment rate stood at 6.7%, just one percentage point lower than its cyclical peak and three percentage points higher from its level at the start of the global financial crisis. As a result of the sluggish recovery, the unemployment rate in the Netherlands is now slightly higher than that for the OECD as a whole.

In a majority of OECD countries, GDP growth over the past three decades has been associated with growing income disparities.

Reforms that boost growth by enhancing economic flexibility often meet strong opposition related to concerns that they may imply adverse consequences for categories of workers. This study investigates how making product or labour market regulation more flexible changes workers’ risks of moving out of employment and jobless people’s chances of becoming employed.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are profoundly changing the skill profile of jobs. Skill development policies need to be overhauled to reduce the risk of increased unemployment and growing inequality.

This document describes and discusses a new supply side framework that quantifies the impact of structural reforms on per capita income in OECD countries.

This report has been elaborated by the OECD in very close collaboration with the Portuguese government and, in particular, the Ministry of Labour. A final version was submitted to the government in late December 2016 and it is expected to be released in Lisbon on the 19th of January 2017.

Comprehensive reforms to Portugal’s labour market between 2011 and 2015 have helped create jobs and reduce the country’s high unemployment rate but important challenges remain, according to a new OECD report.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are changing profoundly the skill profile of jobs. To thrive in the digital economy, ICT skills will not be enough and other complementary skills will be needed, ranging from good literacy and numeracy skills through to the right socio-emotional skills to work collaboratively and flexibly.

Brazil’s old-age pensions have reduced old-age poverty below OECD levels, but pension expenditures of 8.2% of GDP are expected to rise rapidly as the population ages. A pension reform is necessary to ensure the financial sustainability of the system.

Lending volumes and credit conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have gradually improved, according to a new report from the OECD, but demand-side obstacles such as a lack of financial knowledge are contributing to holding back a stronger recovery.

The talk of the town this year has truly been the so-called fourth industrial revolution–and rightly so. Digitalisation causes an increasing interconnectivity of people, production and processes. Combined with the rapid development in artificial intelligence, self-learning machines and robot technology it heralds a new time of revolutionary technological progress.

The way businesses operate is rapidly changing. A strong online presence and tailored services are crucially important to their global development. Together with the emergence of the on-demand economy the traditional employment relationship is therefore being replaced by a diversity of more detached, agile and adaptable forms of employment.

The German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the OECD are jointly organising a High-Level Policy Forum on the New Jobs Strategy which will take place on 13 June 2017 in Berlin. The Forum will be hosted by Minister Andrea Nahles together with Secretary-General Angel Gurría.

The OECD was invited to assess key elements of the Second Irish Public Service Reform Plan (PSRP 2014-2016), with a view to informing future public service reform efforts in Ireland.

This policy brief discusses the possible impact of digitalisation on women and men, and proposes a range of policies to ensure that technological change supports a closing, and not a widening, of gender gaps.

One of the most persistent barriers to women’s success at work and to economic growth, unequal pay, will be actively challenged by a new global partnership, the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC).

Full and effective implementation of recent reforms, including the Jobs Act and the Good Schools reform, would help boost growth in Italy by improving people’s skills and ensuring their more effective use across the country, according to a new OECD report.

Costa Rica enjoys relatively high life satisfaction levels, but should do more to develop a more inclusive and sustainable economy, according to a new OECD report.

Years after the start of the recession the situation of youth in the Italian labour market remains quite bleak. Nearly one in four young people in Italy are neither in employment, education, or training (NEETs) and many young people lack the right skills. Within this context, the government is introducing promising reforms to give young people a better start in the world of work.

Recent reforms of Italy’s education system (“Buona Scuola”), labour market (“Jobs Act”) and industrial policy (“Industria 4.0”) have clear synergies and could reduce worrying imbalances between the supply and demand of skills on the Italian labour market, according to the new OECD report Getting Skills Right: Italy.

Providing American seniors with better work incentives and opportunities will be crucial for the United States to meet the challenges of its rapidly ageing population. By 2028, more than one in five Americans will be aged 65 and over, up from fewer than one in six today, according to a new OECD report.

Korea’s economy has progressed rapidly over the past 40 years, catching up with the level of well-being in most OECD countries. It now needs to continue and speed up the reforms of its labour market in order to strengthen its social safety net, create better quality jobs and boost inclusive growth, according to a new OECD report.

The OECD LEED Trento Centre is working with Italy and the Autonomous Province of Trento to strengthen capacities to develop and implement integrated strategies targeted at improving the quality of life and well-being of people and reversing demographic trends in ‘inner areas’ (sparsely populated areas and stranded communities isolated from large and medium-sized urban centres).

The School is organising specialised courses on socio-economic development and creating an international platform to exchange experiences and knowledge between public officers and practitioners from OECD member and non member countries that deals with cooperation and local development issues.

How should we be managing our public employees and setting public employment policy? The OECD is developing the first international Recommendation on Public Service Leadership and Capability and we want to hear from you. A public consultation is open to all public employees and interested citizens. Deadline is the 14th September 2018.

For everyone to benefit from the changes in technology, globalisation and population ageing, adult learning systems must be ready to support people in acquiring the skills needed for this changing world of work. The EC and the OECD have joined up to discuss how to make adult learning work for the future in your country, by organising three webinars in September and October, and a forum on the 8th of November in Vienna.

"Doctor Strange"; Director: Scott Derrickson; Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt and Scott Adkins;

There is something inherently attractive about people who fight for their country at the risk of losing their lives. We recently saw Akshay Kumar doing it in the outstanding Neeraj Pandey actioner.

This Guide provides concrete recommendations of high impact reforms to simplify the processes of business start ups, construction permits, property registration, procurement, and to upgrade regulatory transparency and efficiency in the management of formalities in Mexico.

This report summarises experience of OECD and non-OECD countries with reforming inspections, attempts to present some of the most interesting and successful experiences suggesting that some good practices may be valid beyond the countries where they were initially pioneered.

This report summarises the results of the survey on regulatory enforcement and inspections conducted among OECD countries in 2012. The report draws some general conclusions from this survey and provides theoretical background on the topic. It also suggests some recommendations for organising and reforming inspections.

The Netherlands, as other OECD countries, faces the challenge of providing high quality health and long term care services to an ageing population in a cost-efficient manner.

The Netherlands has strongly benefited from globalisation, which boosted international trade, cross-border investment and economic growth over the latest decades.

This workshop served to discuss how benchmarking and measuring regulatory performance can help advance a regulatory policy at the sub-national level.

This report assesses progress in the implementation of regulatory policy within the MENA region and highlights good practices from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority and Tunisia.

Workshop held in The Hague on 17-18 June 2014 to evaluate stakeholder engagement in regulatory policy

The OECD Framework for Regulatory Policy Evaluation assists countries in systematically evaluating the design and implementation of regulatory policy, against the achievement of strategic regulatory objectives.

The Municipality of Hermosillo in Mexico shows a 12% progress in the implementation of OECD recommendations to simplify formalities to boost entrepreneurship and create employment.

The second progress report in the implementation of regulatory improvement actions shows a 52% progress for the Municipality of Hermosillo.

The tramitesmetepec.mx website organises formalities by “life events”, facilitating the search of information for citizens and entrepreneurs, and reducing the cost of regulatory compliance.

Hermosillo scores 96% in implementing the recommendations of the Guide on improving the regulatory quality of formalities at the municipal level

The OECD is supporting Malaysia to implement regulatory reforms supporting the country’s economic, social and environmental goals, as well as regional and global competitiveness.

The OECD’s Annual Meeting at Ministerial Level reinforced member governments’ support across a broad range of key OECD work.

Governments should do more to improve the design and delivery of new laws, as even small efforts to fix regulatory shortcomings can have a tangible positive impact on economic activity and well-being, according to a new OECD report.

Many economically advanced countries are failing to fully enforce regulations on political party funding and campaign donations or are leaving loopholes that can be exploited by powerful private interest groups, according to a new OECD report.

OECD will measure the impact of digitalising the Mexican Social Security Institute formalities and guide future efforts on simplification

The role of international organisations (IOs) is critical in the development of rules and standards that can help advance the well-being of citizens in an increasingly globalised world.

Reforms that boost growth by enhancing economic flexibility often meet strong opposition related to concerns that they may imply adverse consequences for categories of workers. This study investigates how making product or labour market regulation more flexible changes workers’ risks of moving out of employment and jobless people’s chances of becoming employed.

This document describes and discusses a new supply side framework that quantifies the impact of structural reforms on per capita income in OECD countries.

Forum on competition and regulation: In pursuit of market efficiency