Active labour market policies (ALMPs) and public employment services (PES) play an important role in helping countries address skills and labour shortages while promoting inclusive labour markets. PES are well placed to act as intermediaries between labour demand and supply and promote labour mobility by reaching out to jobseekers, people out of the labour market, workers and employers, co‑operating with other actors in the PES ecosystem and providing timely, targeted and effective support to those in need.
Megatrends such as ageing, globalisation, and the green and digital transitions have brought fundamental changes to the role of ALMPs and PES in supporting the economy and promoting labour market inclusiveness. PES are called to serve a more diverse set of clients, identify and anticipate skills shortages and address the employability of jobseekers, and prevent unemployment. At the same time, tight budgets call for effective and efficient use of resources and a strong accountability framework. To address these challenges, many countries are implementing or considering reforms of their systems of ALMPs and PES.
This report explores how PES in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) contribute to the common Nordic labour market; an agreement introduced to foster integration and co‑operation among Nordic countries in terms of employment and mobility. In doing so, it takes stock of recent, ongoing and planned PES reforms and trends in PES modernisation among Nordic countries, including the increased deployment of digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions. The report also reviews co‑operation practices between Nordic PES and discusses the impact of certain key policies and regulations on the work of Nordic PES. This report aims to assist governments in the Nordic countries in promoting a more inclusive Nordic common labour market through the work of their PES and their ALMP systems.
This report was prepared by Ailbhe Brioscú and Anne Lauringson in the OECD’s Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS) with the guidance of Theodora Xenogiani (team leader). Statistical assistance was provided by Dana Blumin and editorial assistance by Natalie Corry.
This report benefitted greatly from information and assessments received from stakeholders in Nordic countries through both questionnaires and virtual roundtable consultations held with the OECD team in April 2024. The roundtable consultations brought together representatives of Nordic PES with knowledge and expertise across the various dimensions covered in this project. Several presentations were made by the OECD project team to both the Nordic Labour Market Committee and the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Labour (ÄK-A). Preliminary results were also presented in Malmö, Sweden in June 2024 at a conference marking 70 years of the common Nordic labour market agreement. The report also benefitted from comments from and a rich discussion with delegates of the OECD Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee, following the presentation by the Secretariat of a paper on reforms of ALMPs and modernisation of PES in Nordic and OECD countries.
The report would not have been possible without the Nordic Council of Ministers secretariat, in particular Dan Grannas, Frida Månsson and Andreas Bojsen, who provided secretarial assistance and greatly facilitated organisation and collation of questionnaire responses and comments from Nordic countries on earlier drafts of the report. Comments on earlier drafts of the report were also provided by Mark Pearson (Deputy Director of ELS), Matija Vodopivec and Jonathan Chaloff.
The financial support provided by the Nordic Council of Ministers for this report is gratefully acknowledged.