ABSTRACT
One of the prime objectives of the Youth Guarantee is to convince young persons not in education or employment to register as jobseekers. This is done such that they can benefit from the services that the YG provides, which is especially important for those with a vulnerable background. However, as we show in this report based on Labour Force Survey data, the Public Employment Services in Hungary have not been particularly successful in raising registration rates, and this is only partly due to having to work with young persons who are less motivated to search for a job. What is more, we show, based on matched administrative, as well as large- sample survey data, that there were large regional differences in registration rates of NEETs. This is especially salient when looking at registration rates at the level of local PES offices. While youth in more developed areas seem to need the services of the PES less, thanks to better labour market, there is considerable variation in the propensity to register as jobseeker across micro- regions. Relying on a survey of local PES offices, we also find that outreach efforts seem to be modest, and that commitment towards getting NEETs from a vulnerable background to register as jobseeker is mixed. In particular, building active links to a variety of local stakeholders working with youth is restricted, and a considerable portion of local PES do not think that it is their role to attract these youngsters. This is compounded by the lack of time and well-trained personnel in local PES offices.
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Márton Csillag, Tamás Molnár and Ágota Scharle
