The Evolution of Special Employment Measures

Abstract

The high unemployment of the last 15 years has brought with it a proliferation of special employment measures (SEMs). These measures all involve intervention in the labour market with varied aims and means but with a common theme namely the reduction of the claimant count of unemployment. Initially introduced as a short-term response to what was hoped to be a transient problem, the use of SEMs has now become permanent. The gradual movement from transience to permanence has coloured much of the development of these schemes and understanding it gives a clearer insight into the objectives and underlying theoretical perspective of SEMs. For although SEMs may appear as a continuum there have been a number of changes of direction in their development.