2024-01-02 14:15:41
The unemployment benefit reform approved by the Government would increase the country’s financial needs by 2.5 billion euros per year, which represents 0.17 percentage points. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to a study carried out by Faith.
From the center of economic studies they have indicated that this would be the amount that would have to be faced taking into account that the subsidy reform implies 400,000 new recipients, by expanding the potential number of recipients, in addition to increasing the duration of the benefit in some cases and the amount of the subsidy.
However, the study also indicates that the unemployment benefit reform advances in the generation of incentives for job search and acceptance by people who receive unemployment benefits, by allowing the collection of salary along with a part of the subsidy for 180 days, and they welcome the reduction of the percentage of subsidy received as the length of service increases.
However, they warn that since it is a benefit with a very modest amount, around the subsistence threshold, there is not much “margin” for the strategy of reducing them to encourage a return to the labor market.
Thus, they assure that the room for improvement is rather in the tightening of search requirements and not rejecting job offers, and improving the functioning of the system so that more offers arrive from public employment services.
The objective of improving employability, far from being met
From Fedea they have assured that the intention declared by the Government to improve the employability of subsidy recipients through active employment policies seems “far from being fulfilled.”
This is due to the imbalance between the very defined rights and the vaguely specific obligations of the recipients of the benefits, the severe deficiencies in the performance of public employment services to guide and mediate due to their poor relationship with companies and the misalignment of incentives generated by the separation of powers between the SEPE and the regional services.
“The effectiveness of activity commitment as an instrument to measure the intensity of the job search declines significantly when public employment services have very limited knowledge of the needs of the productive fabric and handle a very small number of job vacancies. existing as they are not able to offer an effective service to companies,” they have pointed out.
Furthermore, they have stated that maintaining individual income as a condition for access to unemployment benefits, even if one is part of a family unit, causes a loss of efficiency in the use of public money and equity in its possible use for alternative purposes.
They have also pointed out that the use of the Royal Decree Law formula deteriorates the quality of the standard by not having the corresponding binding and advisory reports on its content and have pointed out that the chosen option is less understandable when the standard comes into force in June. of 2024.
The standard is not “coherent” with the rest of the benefits
Likewise, Fedea has assured that the situation of unemployment benefits after the reform does not have the necessary “relationship and coherence” with the rest of the existing economic benefits aimed at unemployed people, such as the Minimum Living Income (IMV) and regional income. .
Thus, they have indicated that the option of simplifying the number of benefits by identifying the specific functions of each of them could be more efficient to achieve the desired objectives.
Improvements
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Therefore, from the center of economic studies they have pointed out that the amount of the contributory economic benefit limiting the period to 12 months, have unemployment benefit for a maximum period of 18 months and, if the person remains unemployed, begin to receive the Minimum Living Incomewith regional income acting as a complete group for the groups with the greatest needs.
“All benefits should be compatible with work, articulated as an additional percentage to the salary that would be progressively reduced over time,” they concluded.
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