Do the Public Employment Services reach non-employed youths?

One of the prime objectives of the Youth Guarantee is to convince young persons not in
education or employment to register as jobseekers. This is done such that they can benefit from
the services that the YG provides, which is especially important for those with a vulnerable
background. However, as we show in this report based on Labour Force Survey data, the Public
Employment Services in Hungary have not been particularly successful in raising registration
rates, and this is only partly due to having to work with young persons who are less motivated to
search for a job. What is more, we show, based on matched administrative, as well as largesample survey data, that there were large regional differences in registration rates of NEETs. This
is especially salient when looking at registration rates at the level of local PES offices. While youth
in more developed areas seem to need the services of the PES less, thanks to better labour
market, there is considerable variation in the propensity to register as jobseeker across microregions. Relying on a survey of local PES offices, we also find that outreach efforts seem to be
modest, and that commitment towards getting NEETs from a vulnerable background to register
as jobseeker is mixed. In particular, building active links to a variety of local stakeholders working
with youth is restricted, and a considerable portion of local PES do not think that it is their role to
attract these youngsters. This is compounded by the lack of time and well-trained personnel in
local PES offices