The participation of the Employment Service in the job placement and job advertising market

The Competition Authority received a complaint from Job.is/Nettengslum ehf. concerning the activities of the Employment Authority in the market for job placement and job advertisements. On the basis of this complaint, the Competition Authority issued Opinion No. 1/2010 to the Employment Authority.

The opinion outlines the impact on private employment agencies in the current economic climate of employers opting to use the free services of the Employment Service rather than their services. Competition in the market could therefore be at risk. In order to strengthen and stimulate competition in the market for private employment agencies, the supervisory authority issues the following recommendations to the Vinnumálastofnun:

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.