Monopoly or coexistence An international comparison of job placement

'Among the European employment placement service there are marked differences in organization an legal basis. Between the two extremes of a relatively strict monopoly of public placement and the independent coexistence of public and private agencies a great number of variations exists. Despite these differences there is an obvious trend in Europe to deregulate job placement, i.e. to admit private placement agencies. This tendency is further strenghthened by the efforts for harmonization ensuing from European integration. International comparison shows that both employers and workers mostly look for employees or jobs by themselves, independent of the way job placemants in organized. The results caution against expectations that the structural and placement problems apparent on the labour market might be drastically reduced or even solved, simply by admitting more private placement agencies. The problems preventing a balance on the labour market do not so much exit in those sections that are potential markets for private placement agencies, but rather in those in which workers must be placed and jobs filled that 'fell through' the mesh of the market. On the other hand the controversial debate about the liberalization of placement looses some of its edge by finding that, as is the case of the UK, public and private placement services complement rather than compete with each other.' (author's abstract)Der Autor vergleicht die Organisation der Arbeitsvermittlung in den EG-Laendern, Schweden und der Schweiz. Es ist keine eindeutige Ueberlegenheit der staatlichen oder der privaten Arbeitsvermittlung erkennbar. Der groesste Teil an neuen Beschaeftigungsverhaeltnissen kommt ueber direkte Kontakte zustande, ohne Einschaltung von Vermittlungsagenturen. (IAB)German title: Monopol oder Koexistenz: ein internationaler Vergleich der ArbeitsvermittlungAvailable from IAB / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman