The role of public employment services in young people's job search: a comparative study of Italy, Poland, and Romania

Recent shocks and socio-economic crises increased the complexity of the labour market and demonstrated that youth unemployment remains a significant challenge for public policies in EU countries. Young people often struggle with socio-professional integration difficulties, dependence on family or public subsidies, and risk of marginalisation. Public employment services (PES) should play an important role in mitigating the negative consequences of economic downturns. The objective of this work is to understand whether PES are among young people's preferences in job search activities, assess their efficacy and discuss their capacity to reach the most vulnerable segments of the population effectively. For this aim, we used data from the European Labour Force Survey (LFS) from 2015 to 2020 to collect information about young job seekers and their job search strategies. The study focuses on Italy, Poland, and Romania, three EU countries with a low propensity to rely on PES. Our study highlights the heterogeneous nature of job seekers and shows that PES plays a limited role in their job search process. Our study emphasises the need for tailored approaches to support young job seekers effectively and provides policy suggestions.