The Competition Authority's opinion on the market for employment agencies and job advertisements

The Competition Authority has directed the Employment Authority to:

• The Employment Service should publish links to the websites of private employment agencies, where advertisements for vacant jobs are posted, more prominently than it does at present. Thus, Vinnumálastofnun would direct those who turn to the agency in their job search to a greater extent towards the private employment agencies operating in the market, to obtain information about their vacancies and other advice.
• The Employment Service shall have closer cooperation with private employment agencies on the provision of services, e.g. by utilising their registration and processing systems. This could, for example, apply to the supervision of those registered as unemployed and their application process, or to analysing employers' requirements for applicants and assessing which jobseekers meet those requirements. It could be considered to outsource specific tasks or enter into service contracts with private employment agencies.

These recommendations are set out in the opinion of the Competition Authority. No. 1/2010, The participation of the Employment Service in the job placement and job advertising market.

In the opinion, which is published by the Employment Authority following a complaint from the private employment agency Job.is/Nettengslum ehf., sets out the impact on private employment agencies in the current economic climate of employers using the free services of the Vinnumálastofnun rather than their own. As competition in the market is considered a threat, the supervisory authority issues the aforementioned recommendations to the Employment Authority. In the supervisory authority's view, these could serve to support Vinnumálastofnunar's objectives for labour market measures, whilst also strengthening competition in the market for private employment agencies.