The Danish labour market situation
Helsinki, May 9. - 10. 2011
Local, regional and national level
The (municipal) Job Centers (92)
 Have a high degree of freedom in planning and implementing their
employment initiatives and activities
 Are obliged to focus on outcomes, and to achieve results which contribute
to the realization of the national and regional outcome performance
The Employment Regions (4)
 Are responsible for ensuring coherence between the local initiatives and the
National Employment Policies
 Follow up the performance outcomes of the employment measures being
pursued in the job centres
The Minister of Employment
 Sets the national targets and focus areas
13-04-2015
-2-
4 Employment Regions in
Denmark
North Jutland
Employment Region
0.6 million
Central Jutland
Employment Region
1.2 million
South Denmark
Employment Region
1.2 million
Copenhagen & Zealand
Employment Region
2.4 million
Developments in the Danish Labour
market
The Danish economy / labour market is facing
challenges in the short and in the long term:
 Short term challenges: Recovery from the
recession. A question af business cycles
 Long term challenges: Structure and demografi
Development in unemployment and
long term unemployment 1996-2011
12,0%
10,0%
8,0%
6,0%
4,0%
2,0%
Unemployment
Long term unemployment
10
08
06
04
02
00
98
96
0,0%
Developments in the Danish Labour
market
 The unemployment reached an all time low in July
2008 with an unemployment rate of 2,1 pct.
 Because of the current economic recession, by
January 2011 the unemployment rate had risen to
6,5 pct.
 By March 2011: 6,1 pct. - unemployment appears
to have stabilized at around 6 pct.
 Denmark has lost almost 200.000 jobs in the
private sector within 2 years
Unemployment by age groups
2007-2011
20
07
M
20 01
07
M
20 06
07
M
20 11
08
M
20 04
08
M
20 09
09
M
20 02
09
M
20 07
09
M
20 12
10
M
20 05
10
M
20 10
11
M
03
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Total
16-24 år
25-29 år
30-39 år
40-49 år
50-59 år
60 år og derover
Men
Women
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
11
10
10
09
09
09
08
08
07
07
07
M
03
M
10
M
05
M
12
M
07
M
02
M
09
M
04
M
11
M
06
M
01
Unemployment by sex 2007-2011
10
8
6
4
2
0
Structural challenges : The agechallenge
Labour market participation
among the age group 60-64 years
Pct.
90
Danmark
Sverige
Norge
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
55-59 år
60-64 år
Other structural challenges
Denmark has:
the highest tax burden in OECD (in pct. of
GNP: 48 pct.)
 the highest public sector wages in OECD
countries (in pct. of GNP: 18 pct.)
 the highest public consumption in OECD
(in pct. of GNP: 30 pct.)
 the highest public expenditure in OECD (in
pct. of GNP: 58 pct.)

=> Denmark is facing large public deficits in
the years to come
The government has introduced
following initiatives which is expected
to enhance the economy
 Members of unemployment insurance
funds can receive unemployment benefits
for 2 years
 A tax reform has given substantial tax
income cuts in 2010 and 2011.
 The annual financial agreements involves
tax cuts and slowdown on public
spending.
 Restrictions on the municipalities budgets
The Danish labour market
surveillance consists of:
One year forecasting of the developments in
employment.
 One year forecasting of the developments
in unemployment.
 Current Regional labour market balances
describing the match between labour
supply and demand for 1.100 different job
titles.
All three tools are published twice a year.
The one year forecasts
Because of the current rapid developments on the
labour market forecasts are only being made with
a one year horizon.
The forecasts are based on the economic forecasts
made by the Danish Ministry of Finance
They show the monthly and quarterly expectations to
the development in employment and
unemployment
Expected development
The unemployment is expected to decrease slowly
during 2011
The employment is expected to stabilize / increase
slowly during 2011
The labour market balance model
 Labour market balance – surveillance and frame for the
tasks in the jobcenters
 Survey to about 15.000 companies in the whole country
twice a year
 Status for about 1,100 different job categories
 Gives the status of shortages and surpluss of the labour
force at regional level
 Identify the bottlenecks – severe shortages af labour
 Shows in which areas mobility is needed from
unemployed, when they have less possibility to find a job
13-04-2015
- 16 -
The labour market balance model – data
sources
Data on
unemployment.
Source:
The Central Register
of Labour Market
Statistics
CV data from Jobnet
Data on the
recruitment
situation.
Source: Survey
among companies
Data on employment
and job turnover.
Source:
Register-based labour
force statistics (RAS and
IDA statistics)
Statistics
Denmark
Labour market balance
13-04-2015
- 17 -
The labour market balances
The danish labour market is divided in 4 different
regions.
Each region has its own labour market balance
describing the match between labour supply and
demand for 1.100 different jobtitles.
On the basis of data on employment, unemployment,
job vacancies and companies unsuccessful
recruiting the jobtitles are divided into different
categories.
The labour market balances
Balance between supply
and demand
Severe and structural lack
of labour
Jobopportunities
Very good job
opportunities
Definition
Jobtitles with severe
recruitment problems and
extraordinary low
unemployment
Lack of labour
Jobtitles with recruitment
problems and low
unemployment
Mismatch between supply
and demand
Jobtitles with recruitment
problems and high
unemployment
Balance between supply
and demand
Good job opportunities
Jobtitles without
recruitment problems and
with low unemployment
Excess of labour
Limited job
opportunities
Jobtitles without
recruitment problems with
high unemployment and
few jobvacancies.
Labour market balance – active
use
 Frame of planning initiatives and of the daily activities in the
jobcenters and other institutions working with labour market
issues
 Unemployed are obliged to seek jobs with positive employment
possibilities
 Activation offers must target jobs with positive employment
possibilities
 As a tool in the dialog with the targetgroups in the employment
system
 Basis of the guidance dialog according to choise of
education/training, especially for young people
 Contact to companies starts in the ”balance”
13-04-2015
- 20 -
To prevent the worst consequences of
the downturn in the economy the
focus of the Danish employment effort
is on:
 Bringing the unemployed back into job as soon as
possible.
 Motivating and encouraging unemployed to seek
the jobs still available.
 Using the labour market tools to upgrade
unemployed persons with skills and knowledge in
areas with good job opportunities.
 Encouraging more young people to taking a formal
education.