Publications & Documents

Governments at all levels are looking for new and innovative ways to include individuals in vulnerable situations such as youth, migrants, persons with disabilities and families facing multiple challenges, in the labour market and in society more generally. This paper explores integration of employment services with other services (e.g. social, health and housing) at the local level as one promising way for governments to provide more effective support that is holistic and person-centred and be more efficient in public spending. The paper analyses different forms of local service integration, the possible benefits, and the particular roles subnational governments can play in service integration reforms – ranging from national public employment service-led reforms to more locally driven reforms. The paper also analyses the barriers to service integration and proposes future work to strengthen local service integration.

This paper maps 'who does what' across levels of government in OECD countries in relation to active labour market policies (ALMPs), with a focus on the role of subnational governments. It highlights recent reforms in the multi-level governance of ALMPs in a number of countries, and shows that in about two out of five OECD countries, subnational governments have some type of formal competences for delivering ALMPs. It also shows other ways subnational governments are commonly involved in such policies. This includes delivering their own labour market programmes, often targeted to those farthest from the labour market or facing multiple barriers to employment. Finally, it considers some of the benefits and drawbacks of more decentralised approaches to ALMPs and offers some general principles for managing these trade-offs across different types of governance systems.

Like other Nordic countries Norway has been investing heavily in family policy to enable combining work and family life. Nevertheless, between 2009 and 2022 the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Norway dropped from 2 children to 1.4 children per woman. What is happening, and why? Can Norwegian parents still reconcile work and family commitments? What role do demographic trends play for the future of the Norwegian society? Should we worry? These are some of the questions that this study addresses. It illustrates various aspects of fertility trends, as well as changes in the Norwegian labour market as well as in Norway’s comprehensive system of public family support. The study also looks at social attitudes and how these might be affecting family formation and fertility trends. The final chapter projects demographic, economic, fiscal and social outcomes under different fertility trend scenarios.

This paper investigates the demand for language skills using data on online job vacancies in 27 European Union member countries and the United Kingdom in 2021. Evidence indicates that although Europe remains a linguistically diverse labour market, knowing English confers unique advantages in certain occupations. Across countries included in the analyses, a knowledge of English was explicitly required in 22% of all vacancies and English was the sixth most required skill overall. A knowledge of German, Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese was explicitly demanded in between 1% and 2% of all vacancies. One in two positions advertised on line for managers or professionals required some knowledge of English, on average across European Union member countries and across OECD countries in the sample. This compares with only one in ten positions for skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers and among elementary occupations.

This paper documents the development and piloting of the OECD Skills Profiling Tool. The OECD Skills Profiling Tool assesses three types of skills: occupation-specific skills; foundational skills (literacy, numeracy and digital skills); and a set of noncognitive skills using academically validated self-reported tests. After completion of the assessment, the OECD Skills Profiling Tool generates two sets of results: a personalised skill profile, which can be benchmarked against other users; and a list of suggested occupations that make use of those skills. In December 2021, 270 users and 38 career guidance counsellors in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru tested the OECD Skills Profiling Tool. This paper describes the selection of assessment instruments, the methodology used to generate the results provided by the OECD Skills Profiling Tool and the outcomes of the piloting phase of the tool.

Skills are the key to shaping a better future and central to the capacity of countries and people to thrive in an increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world. Megatrends such as digitalisation, globalisation, demographic change and climate change are reshaping work and society, generating a growing demand for higher levels and new sets of skills. OECD Skills Strategy projects provide a strategic and comprehensive approach to assess countries’ skills challenges and opportunities and help them build more effective skills systems. The OECD works collaboratively with countries to develop policy responses that are tailored to each country’s specific skills needs. The foundation of this approach is the OECD Skills Strategy Framework, which allows for an exploration of what countries can do better to: 1) develop relevant skills over the life course; 2) use skills effectively in work and in society; and 3) strengthen the governance of the skills system. This report, OECD Skills Strategy Bulgaria: Assessment and Recommendations, identifies opportunities and makes recommendations to improve youth skills, improve adult skills, use skills effectively in the labour market and at work, and improve the governance of the skills system in Bulgaria.

Pay transparency policies are gaining momentum throughout the OECD. Over half of OECD countries require private sector firms to report their gender pay gap statistics regularly to stakeholders like employees, employee representatives, the government, and/or the public. Gender pay gap reporting, equal pay audits and other pay transparency policies help advance gender equality at the workplace, as these measures present up-to-date information on a firm’s gender pay gap, encourage employers to offer equal pay for work of equal value, and give individual workers and their representatives valuable insights to fight for pay equity. This report presents the most thorough stocktaking to date of gender pay gap reporting policies and evaluations across OECD countries, and offers guidance to countries interested in introducing, reforming and monitoring their pay transparency systems to promote equal pay for women and men.

Protecting people, rather than specific jobs, plays a key role in promoting labour-market inclusiveness and dynamism. Effective unemployment benefits reduce inequality, and raise productivity by facilitating a good match between workers’ skills and job requirements. They are a crucial policy lever for adapting to the major societal, technological and environmental transitions of our time. This report is the first of a number of OECD country reviews of income support policies. Each report analyses key policy challenges, discusses recent reform initiatives, and identifies good practices from other OECD countries. This report on Korea focuses on avenues for strengthening benefit coverage, income security and re-employment in the context of a 'dual' labour market with large parts of the workforce in short-duration, non-standard or informal employment. It welcomes Korea’s recent reforms towards more accessible jobseeker support, and points to priorities for additional policy action to make income and employment support more effective and inclusive.