Immigrants are more likely to be unemployed, have temporary jobs and low income, which makes labour market integration an important political challenge. Access to paid work is central for the economic situation and social position in society, but knowledge of factors and policies that improve labour market integration for newly arrived immigrants still remains limited. Prior research point out that integration is a process involving both micro and macro dimension, where individuals gradually approach employment. However, no measure of distance to the labour market exist which can give insight on individuals far away from the labour market. With data from the Public Employment Service, this thesis will develop an index as a way to scale the distance between unemployed and employed. It will look into the dynamics of labour market integration by investigating the hub of active policies aiming at directly affecting the economic situation of immigrant; the introduction programme. A year after finishing the introduction program, there are significant differences in the distance to the labour market and probability of employment between the index groups. The results indicate three main findings; the number of activities, the time until you start an activity and what activities are included in the introduction plan matter for labour market integration. Comparing groups within the index reveals that women, lower educated and individuals arriving as quota refugees are further away from the labour market. In conclusion the index is a useful tool to assess labour market distance and provides a measure with predictive power, even after controlling for individual characteristics.

The diploma thesis gives a detailed analysis of the Slovak labour market. The beginning of the thesis includes political and economic development of an independent Slovak state since the Czechoslovak separation until a current situation. The rest of the thesis is devoted to the analysis of the labour market situation. Since its major problem is a high unemployment rate, the thesis gives an overview and deeper analysis of its various aspects. Furthermore, the indicators which influence the existence of the unemployment rate are to be found. The end of the thesis sums up the most problematic areas of Slovak labour market. In addition, the necessary steps which need to be done in order to reach an improvement are mentioned.

Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in English and Afrikaans / The orthodox school's explanation for wage differentials, unemployment and labour market discrimination and the policy measures which they proposed did not offer workable solutions to the problems of the day. During the late 1960s and early 1970s a group of American labour economists conducted field studies in American urban ghettos which resulted in the formulation of the dual labour market theory. In contrast with the orthodox approach, which emphasises free market forces and investment in human capital, the dual labour market theory focuses on the dual structure of the labour market. The labour market is divided between a primary (high-wage) and a secondary (low-wage) sector, with little or no mobility between the sectors. An oversupply of labour in the secondary sector and unemployment are the results. These labour market phenomena and dualism also characterise the South African labour market and should be taken into account when policy measures are formulated. / Loonverskille, werkloosheid en arbeidsmarkdiskriminasie is algemene verskynsels in arbeids· markte wereldwyd. Die ortodokse denkskool se verklaring vir die verskynsels en die beleidsmaatreels wat bulle voorste~ het met verloop van tyd ontevredenheid ontketen omdat dit geen werkbare oplossing vir die probleme van die dag kon hied nie. Gedurende die laat ·1960s en vroee 1970s het 'n groep Arnerikaanse arbeidsekonome verskeie veldstudies in verskillende Arneri· kaanse stedelike ghetto's geloods op soek na 'n meer aanvaarbare verklaring vir hierdie verskyn· sels. Uit hierdie veldstudies is die dualistiese arbeidsmarkteorie geformuleer. In teenstelling met die ortodokse benadering, wat Idem le op die werking van vrye markkragte en investering in menslike kapitaal, benadruk die dualistiese arbeidsmarkteorie die tweeledige struktuur van die arbeidsmark. Die arbeidsmark is verdeel tusssen 'n primere (hoogbesoldigde) en sekondere (laagbesoldigde) sektor, met min of geen mobiliteit tussen die sektore nie. Werkers se toegang tot die primere sektor word beperk, met 'n ooraanbod van arbeid in die sekondere sektor en werkloosheid as die gevolg. Hierdie arbeidsmarkverskynsels en dualisme is ook kenmerkend van die Suid·Afrikaanse arbeidsmark en beleidsmaatreels moet daarmee rekening hou / Economics and Management Sciences / M. Comm. (Economy)

This thesis is an in-depth study of the labour market in the UK publishing sector. The aim is to study the role of social ties in publishing in external recruitment and internal promotion. Conventional sociological studies on social ties and labour market outcomes either neglect the perspective of the recruiter and the referrer or fail to explore the mechanisms by which social ties bring about labour market outcomes. This thesis fills these gaps. I used qualitative research methods, i.e. semi-structured interviews and participant observation for this research. The semi-structured interviews were with 40 interviewees, who were working in different roles (e.g. editorial and design) and levels (e.g. senior and junior) in Oxford and London-based publishing houses. I also served as a committee member of a publishing association in Oxford for seven months. Participant observation serves to triangulate the information I obtained through semi-structured interviews. This thesis examines different aspects of the labour market process and mechanisms. Regarding recruitment methods, I found that whether recruiters use formal or informal (word of mouth) methods depend on the level of uncertainty of recruiting a wrong person and the cost of making such mistakes. The greater the uncertainty and the cost, the more likely recruiters are to use social ties. Social ties serve to provide information about the availability of suitable employees. With regard to selection processes, I found that professional skills are a must but not enough in themselves. Recruiters use informal method at the final stage of selection to ensure the recruits possess the relevant qualities. As for job-hunting methods, I found that most newcomers introduce themselves using formal methods to get into publishing but in fact informality is often embedded in formal methods. Interviewees at managerial level almost entirely got their job through informal channels. Social ties have different functions as people rise through the different levels: whereas first entrants use social ties to obtain information about job opportunities, senior level staff members and freelancers carry with them reputation of their fitness to fill a particular position. Finally, when it comes to internal promotion, employers in my sample promote staff from within the company who already possesses the relevant skills, so as to minimize training costs and get around the uncertainties in settling in new staff. From the employees’ point of view, so long as they perform well in the job and establish a cooperative link with their boss and team members, they would be able to be promoted.

This diploma paper concerns the theme flexibility of the Czech labour market. Concretely it focuses on one of the rigidity which influences the labor market flexibility and it is the labour law. Directly usage of part-time jobs is covered. Netherlandish economy is used for the comparison with Czech economy as in the Netherlands part-time jobs are used very often. The aim of this paper is to answer the question, whether the increased incidence of part-time jobs is useful for the economy. After confirming this hypothesis the paper concentrates on usage of part-time jobs among specific group of workers. This group is represented by women who are taking care of small children. Statistical data from OECD, method of correlation coefficient and comparison of economic indicators were used for the analysis.

The thesis deals with the active labour market policy in the Frýdek-Místek district, where is the problem of higher rates of unemployment and long-term unemployment. Active labour policy has an important role in solving the problem of unemployment in the region. The thesis describes the nature of the local labour market and assesses the active employment policy programs used in the years 2006 - 2010 in terms of their impact on employment and employability of participants. In particular, the thesis focuses on retraining, which is one of the most used tools of active employment policy, and monitors the creation of new jobs that directly affect the situation of individuals in the labour market. The thesis evaluates the targeting of retraining, which significantly affects their results. Using statistical data analysis methods are examined gross effects of retraining and monitored the effects of active employment policy to selected target groups of unemployed people.

Economic cycle has significantly affected the national as well as the international labour market and has caused increased unemployment which primarily concerns endangered groups of people on the labour market. This Thesis is based on the hypothesis that persons older than 50 years are more prone to be socially excluded due to long-term unemployment and a more complex return to job than younger groups of people. With respect to the continuous aging population and prolongation of retirement age, it is necessary to analyse the obstacles and options leading to longer job engagement. The theoretical part of the Thesis characterises the labour market and its imperfections using a descriptive method. In the analytical part, effectiveness and purposefulness of the tool of active employment politics in Jindřichův Hradec are investigated. Evaluation of the analysis follows. The major aim of this Diploma Thesis is to identify the status of the social group in question in the Czech labour market via secondary analysis and also to evaluate to what extend active employment politics contributes to such a status in the regional labour market in Jindřichův Hradec.

<p>The general aim of the present thesis is to increase our understanding of perceived employability. Employability perceptions refer to individuals’ beliefs about their possibilities of finding new, equal, or better employment. How people perceive their possibilities of getting employment is important in a labour market characterised by flexibility and uncertainty, and the present thesis sets out to investigate the nature, determinants, and implications of employability perceptions, using two population-based samples. In Study I, the aim was to study if employability and self-efficacy are two distinct but related constructs and, along with this, to investigate the nature of their association. The results from this study indicated that employability was distinct from self-efficacy and, furthermore, that employability predicted subsequent self-efficacy. In Study II, the aim was to identify predictors of perceived employability. The combination of situational and individual factors was identified as important for employability perceptions. National economic prosperity, living/working in metropolitan areas, poor physical and good psychological work environments, formal education, and competency development were found to be positively associated with perceived employability. The aim of Study III was to investigate if employability could predict subsequent health and well-being. The results from this study implied that individuals who reported higher levels of employability also reported better global health and mental well-being, but not physical complaints, one year later, after controlling for work environment variables and previous health status. In conclusion, the present thesis has implications for theory as well as practice when it concludes that employability is not primarily a self-evaluation, that it is dependent on individual as well as situational factors, and that it has implications for health and well-being.</p>

<p>The study sheds light on how individuals from different countries experience the labour action Komjobb. The study aim to examine in which consideration experiences of the action Komjobb differs among the participants. The study is based on eight qualitative interviews and analyzed by using the method of phenomenography. We have based this research on a theory about Social constructivism. Other theories that we have used are Bauman's theory about the changing value of work in the modern and postmodern society and Andersson's theory of unemployment as a social category. The result is also based on previous research about labour market policies. We have concluded that Komjobb to a particular part meets individual needs. Other conclusions are that there are some differences in whether people from different countries perceive the action as satisfactory. The participants feel that Komjobb strengthens their position at the labour market and in a positive way affect their other routines in everyday life.</p>

<p>The 1990s were a period of economic crisis and mass unemployment. The dissertation shows that in the labour market policy guidelines in the period 1978–2004, a dichotomy was constructed between, on the one hand, a group of unemployed described in positive terms as potentially able to gain new employment, and, on the other hand, a group – referred to in the dissertation as the Others – whose exclusion and marginalisation were seen as permanent. </p><p>Unemployment has not always been defined as a social problem. The nature of the problem of unemployment has been understood and conceptu­alised differently over time. Frames of interpretation contribute to the construction and/or reproduction of categories of unemployed within the context of active Swedish labour market policies. The point of departure for the study is that the definition of social problems is a complex process of social construction. It is an active process of re(construction), in which certain problems become perceived as social problems while others are not. </p><p>The flexibilisation of the labour market, and of labour market policy, is an institutional and discursive process that leads to new categorisations and otherings on the labour market.<i> </i></p><p>In the wake of the 1990s crisis, and of the more structural transformation of the Swedish labour market, a group of long-term unemployed has emerged. In the official guidelines of the labour market policy, the recommendations are to treat this group within the framework of the measures and activities that earlier applied to groups with disabilities. In this process, the structural labour market problem becomes defined politically in terms of individual disabilities. This is not only a process of individualisation, but also a process of medicalization. In this manner, unemployment, and particularly long-term unemployment, becomes analogous to disability.</p>