Tackling long-term unemployment through risk profiling and outreach

Europe faces a key challenge regarding long-term unemployment: despite a steady decline since 2014, almost half of unemployed people are current long-term unemployed. The EU fights long-term unemployment mainly through two approaches: implementing actions that prevent people from becoming unemployed; and proactively assisting unemployed people in their (re-)integration process. In the latter approach, two main strands which tackle key dimensions of the problem have recently been discussed: risk profiling of unemployed persons with a view to identifying those most at risk of long-term unemployment so that early preventative action can be taken; and outreach activities to engage 'hard to reach' groups. This discussion paper aims to provide recent findings within these two strands, highlighting the key challenges faced when addressing long-term unemployment and discussing the pros and cons of the approaches implemented.

Research suggests that the role of the caseworker is a key success factor throughout the different profiling approaches and outreach activities. Therefore, although scientific evidence on the effectiveness of risk profiling and targeting support is mostly absent, profiling activities used as a complementary practice to support caseworker assessment and outreach work tailored to the needs of vulnerable people are both recommended. Still, outreach and profiling activities are only the starting points: what needs to follow are comprehensive activation measures to best serve the most vulnerable throughout the entire social inclusion process.

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