Job retention schemes (Kurzarbeit) have been a key policy tools to contain the employment and social fallout of the COVID-19 crisis in a number of OECD countries. By May 2020, job retention schemes supported about 50 million jobs across the OECD, about ten times as many as during the global financial crisis of 2008-09.
The schemes prevented a surge in unemployment, mitigated financial hardship and stabilized demand. However, as the COVID-19 crisis moved into its second wave, deeper structural changes are becoming more likely. Job retention schemes should respond to this new situation, become more targeted and attention should shift towards supporting workers, rather than their jobs.
Based on an OECD policy brief, this online Seminar will give an overview on the use of job retention schemes in OECD countries and discuss in detail the schemes in France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Date
26.11.2020
, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Speaker
- Lutz Bellmann, Head of Research Establishments and Employment, Institute for Employment Research, Nürnberg
- Alexander Hijzen, Senior Economist at the OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, Paris
- Anke Jenckel, Consultant on short-time-work, Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Issues, Berlin
- Adrien Perret, Deputy Director for Social Policy and Employment at the French Treasury (Ministry for the Economy, Finance and the Recovery), Paris
- Eddie Zondervan, Project Lead at the Dutch Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment, The Hague
Moderation:
- Matthias Rumpf, OECD Berlin Centre
Venue
The online seminar will take place via Zoom.