Promoting growth and employment
Historical archive
Published under: Brundtland's 3rd Government
Publisher: Kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet
Speech/statement | Date: 21/05/1996
Minister of Local Government and Labour Affairs Gunnar Berge
Ministry of local government and labour
Promoting growth and employment
Statement at the meeting of the OECD council at ministerial level in Paris 21. May 1996
Thank you Mr. Chairman,
The OECD Jobs Strategy underlines the need for structural
reforms in order to make the OECD countries more flexible and able
to adapt.
It is necessary to employ a short term strategy for reduced
unemployment as well as a long term strategy for increasing
employment.
The short term strategy for reduction in unemployment is
closely linked to how you treat the unemployed. There is a general
agreement on the need to shift policies from passive income support
to more active measures. But changes are in many cases going too
slow. In this context, the OECD plays an important role in pointing
out the obstacles for shifts, and alleviate the process form
recommendations to implementations.
One of the main elements in a short term strategy is active
labour market policy that transforms redundant workers into
employable workers, combined with a social security system that
provides a necessary level of protection. The secretariats review
of the effects of active labour market policy shows that the return
vary for different groups and programmes. This illustrates the need
and room for improvements. But the reviews show that the beneficial
effects of active labour market policy - when careful implemented
in interaction with passive support - clearly outweight the
negative impacts.
One of the key elements in a long term strategy for
improving job prospects concerns how you train the future work
force. A policy directed towards raising the quality of human
capital is necessary in order to enhance the adaptive capacity of
the work force. In addition, improving the quality of labour
through education, is the most important instrument in order to
avoid the dilemma between unemployment and increasing income
differentials.
Lagt inn 29 mai 1996 av Statens forvaltningstjeneste, ODIN-redaksjonen