The government plans to close the job centers and reduce administration
A new analysis from the Agency for the Labour Market and Recruitment shows that employees at the country’s job centers spend disproportionately much time on administrative tasks. For example, it takes around 80 clicks to register a company internship and 40 clicks to register a job interview. The government believes that this is time that could be used more effectively to help citizens find employment.
Minister for Employment Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen (Socialdemokratiet, S) stated in a press release that the rules in the employment area are too complex, and case workers spend too much time on administration. She highlights that the government is focused on simplifying the rules, and the new analysis supports the need to reduce the administrative burden.
The government plans to close the job centers and save three billion Danish kroner in the employment area by 2030, which is part of the government agreement from 2022. In addition, there are planned savings of 1.1 billion Danish kroner to finance the “Arne” pension. Currently, five out of the 12 billion Danish kroner used for employment efforts go towards job center administration.
An analysis from the unemployment insurance fund Ase shows that there are currently a record number of employees at the country’s job centers, despite historically low unemployment. The government’s plan to close the job centers aims to give municipalities greater freedom to organize employment efforts in their own way.
A year and a half ago, municipalities expressed concern that savings were mentioned before solutions. However, the government believes that challenges can be reduced through simplifying regulations, simpler rules, and a greater focus on effective IT support and local implementation.
Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen emphasizes that the goal is to make citizens’ interactions with the system simpler and provide case workers with the right tools to perform their work more efficiently. She notes that the analysis identifies several areas where the burden on employees can be reduced.
A new analysis from the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) shows that more than one in three companies consider job centers a relevant channel for recruitment, especially in cleaning and industry. Deputy Director Steen Nielsen from DI points out that cooperation between companies and job centers is crucial for employment efforts, whether it be recruitment, job searching, job testing, or keeping the unemployed close to the labor market.