Background information

A range of labour market information systems are in place with the aim to match supply and demand on the labour market at regional level, with an eye on future developments. Increasingly, the regional labour market information is available online. The main users are companies and employees, as well as public authorities and educational institutions. Funding takes place through public authorities, employers and educational institutions. At national level, the UWV (PES, Uitvoeringsorgaan Werknemers Verzekeringen, Employee Insurance Implementing Body) presents regional labour market information (reports, research and labour market dashboard) on the website werk.nl. Coverage extends to all companies and the public employment service (PES).

Content of measure

The reports are compiled through a combination of ad hoc analysis and forecasting based on information from various sources. The reports contain details on which jobs and sectors show most demand for workers, the employment trends in a given region for the preceding year, and other interesting employment related developments (such as the types of employment benefits paid out in the region and the share of recipients as a proportion of the national population). Also, the reports provide information on which areas of a region’s labour market show the most job opportunities. Other trends and observations are reported as well, such as, in a recent report for the region Drenthe, on how individuals with disabilities are more vulnerable on the labour market, the increased risk of long term unemployment for workers over 55 years of age, and the gradual disappearance of administrative jobs. 

Use of measure

There are no recent studies on the effectiveness of regional labour market information. However, the purpose behind these reports is to provide local and regional governments, employment services, and other stakeholders interested in the labour market and its developments. As such, an evaluation is difficult as the main objective of these regional reports is to inform and support. No recent evaluations of this measure appear to be public. 

Looking to other indicators to gauge the effectiveness of the regional labour market information, it is noted in literature that online labour market dashboards seem to be more effective than ‘traditional’ monitoring reports. An indication for this is the upscaling of the labour market dashboard for the provinces of Noord-Brabant and Limburg to other provinces.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment Unemployed Cross-border commuters	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Public employment service	Companies National funds Other

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

Unknown

Views and reactions

Unknown

Sources

• 01 November 2021: UWV, (2021), Samenvatting Regio in Beeld – Drenthe (www.werk.nl)
• 04 October 2022: Arbeidsmarktregio's (www.werk.nl)