Identification of possible indicators for measuring early intervention during unemployment spells

Can specific data be used to determine the quality of services provided by public employment services (PES) to jobseekers in the initial phase (first 6 months) of their unemployment spells and, if so, what indicators can be used to measure this early activation?

The aim of our project was to develop a diagnostic method that allows PES at different levels of development in the EU Member States to measure the process of early intervention based on specific data, and then to share the results with each other.

When developing this diagnostic method, we also aimed to make the measurement based on easily collectable data, the acquisition of which does not represent an additional burden for the employment services, and the verifiability of which can be easily performed by a third party. In selecting the potential indicators, we took into account the existing data collection and management practices of the PES, as well as their possible technical and administrative constraints.

Based on all this, the following three areas were found to be suitable for the definition of the indicators:

- the design of the profiling system;

- the frequency of early meetings with the employment counsellor;

- a job-oriented activation approach.

You can read about BI’s previous research in the topic of early intervention here.

The Budapest Institute was commissioned to write a follow-up study on this topic by the EU DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, via the ICON-INSTITUTE.