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The European Commission's proposal suggests three main measures: encourage registration, assessing the needs of the long-term unemployed when reaching their 18th month and the offer of a job integration agreement.

Long-term unemployment in Europe

The long-term unemployed, those who have been without a job for more than a year, have about half the chance of getting back to employment compared to the short-term unemployed and in many countries long-term unemployment has more than doubled after the crisis began, especially among young workers. Not only young people suffer from the effects of long-term unemployment; it also affects some other groups more severely than others, including men and low-skilled workers. At the same time, fewer unemployed people became inactive during the crisis, which means that, despite the low prospects of returning to jobs, long-term unemployed people did not give up.

The difficulties that the long-term unemployed find in their search for jobs are not only related to the limited number of jobs available, but also to a potential “skills atrophy” that might scare recruiters, resulting in many cases in lower earnings potential, poorer health and the risk of social exclusion and poverty. The risk for the long-term unemployed of falling into poverty and/or social exclusion is especially high considering that only 24% of them receive unemployment benefits.

The Commission plan to tackle long-term unemployment

With this in mind, the European Commission has launched a new initiative with the objective of improving the prospects of the long-term unemployed and support the reintegration of the 12 million people that have been unemployed in Europe for more than a year into the job market. A number of measures are already in place, including the Youth Employment Initiative, the recommendations given within the context of the European Semester, and the use of a percentage of the European Social Fund to tackle long-term unemployment. The Commission’s proposal aims to complement and reinforce these measures, and puts forward three key steps that should be delivered through a single point of contact to ensure the continuity of the service:

  • Encourage the registration of long-term unemployed with an employment service.
  • Offer the long-term unemployed an individual in-depth assessment of their needs and employment prospects at the latest at 18 months of unemployment.
  • Offer them a job integration agreement, an individualised plan to bring them back to work which might include job search assistance, training, work experience, mentoring, debt counselling, rehabilitation, child and health care services, migrant integration support, and housing and transport support.

ESN’s view

The European Social Network (ESN) welcomes the Commission’s efforts, particularly the emphasis that the Recommendation makes on joint approaches between employment and social services, which we highlighted in our response to the consultation launched by the EC prior to this proposal . We also acknowledge how the proposal builds on examples of good practice that already exist in member states, particularly in regards to the implementation of integrated case management between employment and social services, as we documented in our response to the consultation.

We agree with the need to have individual assessment and guidance but express our concerns with the 18 month period, and would suggest that support takes place as soon as someone becomes unemployed. Our members working in local public social services highlight that the further people are unemployed, the more they become susceptible to suffer from “a skills atrophy” that may impact on their recruitment potential putting them at a higher risk of social exclusion and poverty.

Moving onto implementation, it is understandable the EC’s emphasis on the use of Structural Funds, but this also raises the question of sustainability as soon as the project comes to an end. Reaching out to those, who have been unemployed for a long period of time, is crucial and social services play a key role in reaching out to them. However, unless there is a greater emphasis on outreach, there is a risk that the proposals will not cover those coming from the most vulnerable groups, who are usually unemployed for longer periods of time. This is a similar risk to the one we expressed in the past in regards to the Youth Guarantee Scheme not reaching out to the most vulnerable young people, like those in care or with a disability.

Finally, when it comes to monitoring and evaluation, the proposal talks of establishing monitoring indicators 6 months after its approval and an evaluation 3 years afterwards. However, it would be beneficial if the Commission talked with member states of ways in which they could assess the proposals’ implementation and learn from each other; for instance, through peer reviews addressing LTU integrated strategies between employment and social services at local level.