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Aparicio Fenoll, Ainoa & Roberto Quaranta (2025): The uneven effects of conditional cash transfers on women and men. In: Labour Economics, Jg. 94. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2025.102695

Abstract

"We compare the effects of training-conditional and unconditional cash transfer programs on the labor market outcomes of women and men. We use the experiment in Del Boca et al. (2021) where low-income households are randomly assigned to one of three groups: cash transfer conditional on a family-specific bundle of training programs, unconditional cash transfer with no access to those training programs, and no treatment. We exploit Social Security data, including all registered labor contracts in Italy. We find that cash transfers conditional on training have a positive and sizeable effect on males’ labor income and that this effect stays in place for at least two years after the program. Unconditional cash transfers did not affect men. In contrast, female employment is positively affected by both cash transfers regardless of access to the training, but the effect is smaller if they are conditional." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.) ((en))

Abstract

"Publication metadata The EU labor market policy (LMP) database collects information about government actions to help people with a disadvantage in the labor market, primarily by facilitating and supporting transitions from unemployment or inactivity into employment. This can take the form of financial support – such as unemployment benefits – or practical support ranging from basic guidance services to the provision of training, work experience and other actions aimed at improving a persons’ employability. It also includes incentives for employers to take on people from defined target groups. In the LMP database these actions are referred to as interventions. The LMP data are collected annually by a network of national delegates from administrative sources in each country on the basis of a comprehensive methodology1 that provides detailed guidelines on which interventions to cover; how to classify interventions by type of action; how to measure the expenditure associated with each intervention; and how to measure the number of participants. The LMP data serve to inform analysts and policy makers about the labor market policies offered in the EU Member States and Norway and provide an evidence base for further development of policy. LMP data are used in routine monitoring and benchmarking frameworks adopted by the European Commission to identify key trends and challenges across the EU Member States and in analysis supporting a range of European policy initiatives. This note presents an analysis of the latest available LMP statistics. Readers are recommended to refer to information on the characteristics of LMP statistics provided in Annex 1 to aid understanding of the data presented." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ardito, Chiara, Fabio Berton, Lia Pacelli & Marina Zanatta (2025): The Effect of the End of Hiring Incentives on Job and Employment Security. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 18024), Bonn, 62 S.

Abstract

"We analyze the long-term impact of hiring subsidies on both job and employment security. The subsidy that we examine was introduced in Italy through the 2015 Budget Law, with the goal of promoting open-ended contracts. We employ a non-linear difference-in-differences (NL-DiD) approach within a duration framework, using high-frequency, population-wide linked employer-employee administrative data from a large Italian region. Causal results on job security indicate that the subsidy's protective effect is short-lived. Excess separations from subsidized jobs peak in the exact same month in which the monetary incentive expires. No long-term protective effect of the subsidy is observed regarding employment security. These results hold across a wide range of worker and firm characteristics, showing surprisingly little heterogeneity. One notable exception concerns firm size. Furthermore, the expiration of subsidies disproportionately affects workers with low human capital. Our findings suggest that hiring subsidies are not effective in promoting either job or employment security for beneficiaries and that this raises questions about the efficacy of this common and costly policy, particularly when offered unconditionally." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Aubry, Agnès (2025): Support or Exploitation? Workfare Implementation and Migrants’ Resistance within the Swiss Reception System. In: Work, Employment and Society, S. 1-21. DOI:10.1177/09500170251344717

Abstract

"Drawing on ethnographic research, this article explores the daily implementation and lived experiences of workfare-inspired programs designed for migrants seeking protection, who are living in Swiss reception centres. It examines how they are compelled to perform a wide range of unpaid work in exchange for their support and how they negotiate that work. Using a situated intersectional approach, the article shows how workfare-inspired programmes become a tool for channeling the behaviors of racialized migrant men and underlines the everyday resistance practices and survival strategies migrant claimants use to face exploitation. This case study takes a critical stance towards mainstream accounts of migrant workfare that frame it as a pathway to integration and empowerment. It brings new empirical insights to critical welfare studies and contributes to research on contemporary social security reform by showing how migrant claimants routinely resist the implementation of workfare." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Belot, Michèle, Philipp Kircher & Paul Muller (2025): Do the Long-Term Unemployed Benefit from Automated Occupational Advice during Online Job Search? In: The Economic Journal, S. 1-34. DOI:10.1093/ej/ueaf041

Abstract

"In a randomized field experiment, we provide suggestions about suitable occupations to long-term unemployed job seekers. The suggestions are automatically generated, integrated in an online job search platform, and fed into actual search queries. Effects on ‘reaching a cumulative earnings threshold’ and ‘finding a stable job’ are positive, large, and are more pronounced for those who are longer unemployed. Treated individuals include more occupations in their search and find more jobs in recommended occupations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Berg, Gerard J. van den, Barbara Hofmann, Gesine Stephan & Arne Uhlendorff (2025): Mandatory integration agreements for unemployed job seekers: a randomized controlled field experiment in Germany. In: International Economic Review, Jg. 66, H. 1, S. 79-105., 2024-05-21. DOI:10.1111/iere.12745

Abstract

"Integration agreements (IAs) are contracts between the employment agency and the unemployed, nudging the latter to comply with rules on search behavior. We designed and implemented a randomized controlled trial involving thousands of newly unemployed workers, randomizing at the individual level both the timing of the IA and whether it is announced in advance. Administrative records provide outcomes. Novel theoretical and methodological insights provide tools to detect anticipation and suggest estimation by individual baseline employability. The positive effect on entering employment is driven by individuals with adverse prospects. For them, early IA increase reemployment within a year from 53% to 61%." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Wiley) ((en))

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Berg, Gerard J. van den, Gesine Stephan & Arne Uhlendorff (2025): Do Early Active Labor Market Policies Improve Outcomes of Not-Yet-Unemployed Workers? Findings from a Randomized Field Experiment. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 17612), Bonn, 42 S.

Abstract

"Inequality is a dynamic phenomenon, and the relative and absolute positions of individuals are subject to frequent shocks. It is important to know if preventive interventions mitigate adverse inequality effects of labor market shocks. We consider individuals up to three months before the envisaged termination of their employment and we study effects of pre-unemployment participation in active labor market programs (ALMP) on labor market outcomes using a randomized controlled trial (RCT). This complements the vast literature on ALMP for unemployed workers. Policies include signing an integration agreement (IA), preparing an action plan (AP) before the first meeting with a caseworker, and the combination of both. Results suggest that the IA - particularly when combined with the AP - increases the probability of employment around 4 months after registration as soon-to-be unemployed. This is driven by workers with a relatively high unemployment risk following registration. Thus, the policies contribute to reducing societal inequality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bonoli, Giuliano, Patrick Emmenegger & Alina Felder-Stindt (2025): Re‐Skilling in the Age of Skill Shortage: Adult Education Rather Than Active Labor Market Policy. In: Regulation and governance, S. 1-13. DOI:10.1111/rego.70065

Abstract

"European economies face the task of providing the necessary skills for the “twin transition ” in a period of skill shortage. As a result, we may expect countries to reorient their labor market policy towards re-skilling. We look for evidence of a reorientation in two relevant policy fields: active labor market policy (ALMP) and adult education (AE). We explore general trends in both fields based on quantitative indicators and compare recent policy developments in four countries with strong ALMP and AE sectors: Denmark, France, Germany, and Sweden. We do not observe clear evidence of a general movement away from activation and towards re-skilling in ALMP. However, in AE, we identify several re-skilling initiatives that address skill shortages. Relying on insights from queuing theories of hiring and training, we argue that due to changes in the population targeted by ALMP, the locus of re-skilling policy is increasingly moving towards AE." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Brussig, Martin, Andrea Kirchmann, Irene Pimminger, Eva Roth, Christin Schafstädt & Hans Verbeek (2025): Gleichstellungsförderung durch Jobcenter – Organisatorische Grundlagen und Hemmnisse. (IAQ-Report 2025-08), Duisburg, 18 S. DOI:10.17185/duepublico/84167

Abstract

"Über die Zielsteuerung der Jobcenter kann beeinflusst werden, wie sie ihren gleichstellungspolitischen Auftrag umsetzen. Jedoch bestimmen auch die finanziellen, personellen und instrumentellen Möglichkeiten der operativen Ebene in den Jobcentern, ob vereinbarte Ziele erreicht werden. Geschlechterdifferenzierte Kennzahlen sind ein Mittel der Zielsteuerung. Basis hierfür sind quantifizierte Messgrößen. Die grundsätzlich vorhandenen Daten werden aber in den Jobcentern nicht flächendeckend genutzt. Positive Anknüpfungspunkte für das Gleichstellungshandeln der Jobcenter sind die flächendeckende Verankerung der Beauftragten für Chancengleichheit (BCA) sowie die Bereitschaft der Führungskräfte in den Jobcentern, sich für Gleichstellung einzusetzen. Um die Wirksamkeit des Gleichstellungshandelns zu erhöhen, sollte der Stellenwert von Gleichstellung in der Zielsteuerung gestärkt werden, und zudem sollten die organisatorischen Grundlagen des Gleichstellungshandelns im Jobcenter verbessert werden." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Brébion, Clément, Simon Briole & Laura Khoury (2025): Unemployment Insurance Eligibility and Employment Duration. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 18014), Bonn, 66 S.

Abstract

"While extensive research on unemployment insurance (UI) has examined how benefits affect workers' job search, little is known about how eligibility conditions shape firms' hiring decisions. These conditions, often requiring a minimum work history, affect the value workers place on contracts meeting the eligibility threshold. Exploiting a French reform that modified these requirements after 2009, we show that firms internalize workers' preferences and adjust contract durations to align with the new threshold. This reveals an overlooked ex-ante mechanism, where firms respond to UI incentives when posting vacancies—before meeting workers—rather than only through ex post adjustments. This response shifts contract duration distributions, also affecting workers already eligible for UI. Our findings have two implications: first, UI shapes firms' behavior at the vacancy stage, influencing job creation decisions ex ante, not just separation decisions ex post; second, UI eligibility conditions generate significant spillover effects." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bömmel, Nadja, Mustafa Coban, Zein Kasrin, Maximilian Schiele, Claudia Wenzig, Joachim Wolff & Cordula Zabel (2025): From welfare to work: The health and material well-being effects of long-term employment subsidies in Germany. In: International Journal of Social Welfare, Jg. 34, H. 1, S. e12653., 2024-01-31. DOI:10.1111/ijsw.12653

Abstract

"This paper analyses effects of subsidized, predominantly non-standard, employment within the German labor market program ‘participation in the labor market’ for long-term welfare recipients on their health satisfaction, health-based quality of life, satisfaction with standard of living and households' actual ownership of important goods (e.g., car or new clothes) or the lack thereof due to financial reasons. We differentiated subgroups by health, age and working hours. Data for participants and non-participants (but entitled to welfare benefits) stem from the first two waves (2020/2021) of the panel survey ‘Quality of Life and Social Participation’. To identify causal effects, we employed matching methods based on administrative and survey data. Our findings show that 1 and 2 years after programme start, participation had significant positive effects on all indicators of health and standard of living. Thus, for the program's focus group, subsidized employment, even if non-standard, can contribute to improving health and material well-being." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Wiley) ((en))

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Camarero Garcia, Sebastian & Martin Murmann (2025): How unemployment benefit duration shapes startup motivation and growth. In: Small business economics, Jg. 64, H. 4, S. 1565-1600., 2024-07-13. DOI:10.1007/s11187-024-00954-8

Abstract

"Business creation is economically important, and unemployment precedes the creation of a substantial share of new firms. Yet, most research has focused on analyzing the effects of unemployment insurance policies on re-employment outcomes, ignoring self-employment. In this paper, we analyze how the potential duration of unemployment benefits, a fundamental design choice of unemployment insurance systems, affects whether new firms are founded out of opportunity or necessity and their growth potential. To this end, we construct a comprehensive dataset on German firm founders that links administrative social insurance information with business survey data. Exploiting reform and age-related exogenous variation in the potential duration of unemployment benefits, we find that longer potential benefit duration implies longer actual unemployment and, as a consequence, more necessity entrepreneurship and worse startup outcomes in terms of sales and employment growth. We explain this overall effect of potential benefit duration through a mix of compositional and individual-level duration effects. Our findings underline that new firms started out of unemployment are a highly heterogeneous group and suggest that the (optimal) design of unemployment insurance systems has important externalities on whether innovation- and growth-oriented firms are started out of unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Cheung, Maria, Johan Egebark, Anders Forslund, Lisa Laun, Magnus Rödin & Johan Vikström (2025): Does Job Search Assistance Reduce Unemployment? Evidence on Displacement Effects and Mechanisms. In: Journal of labor economics, Jg. 43, H. 1, S. 47-81. DOI:10.1086/726384

Abstract

"Using a two-level randomized experiment we find that job search assistance (JSA) reduces unemployment among the treated, but also creates displacement effects. Analyses of mechanisms show that vacancy referrals from caseworkers to job seekers explain the positive effects for the treated by helping the job seekers apply to the most relevant jobs earlier. We also find that the overall assessment of JSA hinges on how the displacement effects hit the labor market and to what extent firms react by opening new vacancies. The displacement is larger in weak labor markets and wefind no displacement of resources." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dahl, Espen, Kjetil A. van der Wel, Åsmund Hermansen & Magne Bråthen (2025): Work Hazards and Social Class among ‘successful’ ALMP-Participants in Norway. In: Journal of Comparative Social Work, Jg. 19, H. 2, S. 89-119. DOI:10.31265/jcsw.v19i2.664

Abstract

"Background and research question. Studies of the outcomes of participation in Active Labor Market Programs (ALMP) focus primarily on employment status or earnings. Few studies address the social class and work environment that “successful ” ALMP-participants transit to. Little is also known about whether participation in different types of ALMPs leads to different social classes and work environments. This is unfortunate since many ALMP participants have health challenges and reduced work ability and thus are particularly susceptible to poor working conditions. Data and methods: Using Norwegian register data, we examined social class and exposure to hazardous working conditions, measured by a Mechanical Job Exposure Matrix and a Psychosocial Job Exposure Matrix, that characterized the jobs of “successful” ALMP participants, compared with the general work force. Results: We found that both mechanical and psychosocial job exposures in male ALMP-participants were higher than those of the general work force. For female participants, mechanical exposures were higher than the average level in the general work force, while psychosocial exposures were lower. Further, job exposures differed by ALMP type, but after adjustment for age, education and social class, only negligible differences in job exposures between ALMP types remained. Social class contributed to variation in both mechanical and psychosocial job exposures, most for mechanical exposures among male participants, and least for psychosocial exposures among female participants. Conclusion: Compared with the general working population, former ALMP participants, regardless of what type of programs they participated in, entered lower social classes and tended to face more hazardous work environment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dejemeppe, Muriel, Matthieu Delpierre & Mathilde Pourtois (2025): Hiring Subsidies for Low-Educated Unemployed Youths are Ineffective in a Tight Labor Market. In: The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy. DOI:10.1515/bejeap-2024-0241

Abstract

"We evaluate the impact of hiring subsidies for unemployed jobseekers in Wallonia, the French-speaking region in Belgium, focusing on low-educated youths who gain earlier access to subsidies. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that prioritizing subsidies for them leads to deadweight losses during the pre-pandemic economic boom. Positive job-finding effects are observed for high school graduates in areas with lower labor market tightness, supporting the hypothesis that this factor drives inefficiency. For high school dropouts, no effects are detected. This may reflect loose targeting – such as lack of a minimum unemployment duration – but other group differences could also play a role." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © De Gruyter) ((en))

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Engler, Fabian & Matthias Schulze-Böing (2025): Auf dem Weg zur relationalen Arbeitsmarktpolitik. Kooperation und Konflikt im arbeitsmarktpolitischen Dreieck. In: Nachrichtendienst des Deutschen Vereins für öffentliche und private Fürsorge, Jg. 105, H. 4, S. 158-165.

Abstract

"Eine gute Zusammenarbeit zwischen Jobcentern und Trägern ist eine Voraussetzung wirksamer Arbeitsförderung. Hier gibt es Optimierungspotenzial beim Rollenverständnis und bei der Prozessorganisation." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Eppel, Rainer, Ulrike Huemer, Helmut Mahringer & Lukas Schmoigl (2025): Statistical Profiling as a Targeting Tool: Can It Enhance the Efficiency of Active Labor Market Policies? (WIFO working papers 694), Wien, 33 S.

Abstract

"Digitization has spurred interest in the potential of statistical profiling to improve the targeting of active labor market policies. Despite growing adoption, empirical evidence on the effectiveness of such profiling in program allocation is scarce. We evaluate a semi-automated statistical profiling model in Austria that aims to target policies based on predicted reemployment prospects (low, medium, high). Our analysis shows that a reallocation of resources from low-chance to medium-chance segments, as envisaged by the Public Employment Service, would not yield the desired efficiency gains. Employment programs have a stronger impact on jobseekers with low job prospects than on those with medium prospects, and training programs are not consistently less effective in the low-chance segment either. Our findings suggest that the focus should remain on the most disadvantaged, both from an efficiency and an equity perspective. They caution against relying on overly coarse profiling and stress the need for nuanced targeting strategies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ertl, Hubert, Bernd Fitzenberger, Silke Anger, Alexander Christ, Bernhard Christoph, Julia Gei, Julia Holleitner, Catie Keßler, Ute Leber, Brigitte Schels & Marco Seegers (2025): BA-BIBB-IAB-Bewerberstudie zum Ausbildungsmarkt: Ausbildungssuchende ohne Kontakt zur Arbeitsagentur und Geflüchtete sind oft im Nachteil. (IAB-Kurzbericht 18/2025), Nürnberg, 8 S. DOI:10.48720/IAB.KB.2518

Abstract

"Eine Ausbildung aufzunehmen, ist ein entscheidender Schritt auf dem Bildungsweg vieler junger Menschen. Sie müssen sich mit unterschiedlichen Ausbildungswegen auseinandersetzen und um Ausbildungsplätze bewerben. Hierbei kommt Angeboten der beruflichen Orientierung und Berufsberatung eine zentrale Rolle zu. Welche Erfahrungen machen ausbildungsinteressierte junge Menschen während der Berufsberatung, wie unterscheiden sich diese Erfahrungen und inwiefern gehen sie mit einem erfolgreichen Übergang in eine Berufsausbildung oder ein Studium einher? Daten der aktuellen BA-BIBB-IAB-Bewerberstudie zeigen, dass Ausbildungssuchende, die im Verlauf ihrer Suche nach einem Ausbildungsplatz den Kontakt zur Bundesagentur für Arbeit abgebrochen haben, und junge Geflüchtete seltener einen berufsqualifizierenden Bildungsweg einschlagen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Frøyland, Kjetil, Helen Bull, Lisebet Skeie Skarpaas, Gerd Berget, Øystein Spjelkavik & June Ullevoldsæter Lystad (2025): Work inclusion of marginalized groups in a troubled city district - How can active labor market policies improve? In: Social Policy and Administration, Jg. 59, H. 3, S. 588-601. DOI:10.1111/spol.13058

Abstract

"Active labor market policies (ALMP) have faced challenges in integrating marginalised groups into the workforce. This study explores perceptions among managers and frontline workers on enhancing work inclusion for neurodiverse citizens, marginalized youth, and individuals suffering from mental health or substance use disorders in a troubled city district. An examination of dialogue conferences and group interviews uncovers problems with current practises, attitudes, and service organisation. The proposed local solutions primarily include improved coordination of support and services, as well as enhanced competence within these services. Our results indicate that co-creation at the system, organization, and individual levels, coupled with expanded knowledge translation, can mobilise local actors to create new or adopt existing knowledge-based strategies. Therefore, local co-creation presents a potential for developing local inclusion strategies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Geisler, Alexandra & Jonas Gelbrich (2025): Evaluationsbericht Maßnahmenkombination KOMPAKT-Stufenmodell. Zeitraum: 03.05.2023 – 02.05.2025. Dresden, 102 S., Anhang. DOI:10.5281/zenodo.15839108

Abstract

"Das KOMPAKT-Stufenmodell ist eine arbeitsmarktpolitische Maßnahme zur Aktivierung, beruflichen Orientierung, Qualifizierung und Integration von erwerbsfähigen Leistungsberechtigten gemäß § 16 Abs. 1 SGB II i.V.m. § 45 SGB III. Ziel ist es, Menschen mit vielfältigen Vermittlungshemmnissen – etwa Langzeitarbeitslose, Migrant*innen, gesundheitlich eingeschränkte Personen – systematisch und individuell an den Arbeitsmarkt heranzuführen. Die zweijährige Evaluation dieser Maßnahmenkombination beinhaltet eine sowohl quantitative als auch qualitative Überprüfung und Bewertung der Durchführung und Wirkungen der Maßnahmenaktivitäten vorwiegend aus Perspektive der Teilnehmenden." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)