Impact of the Labour Market on Vocational Retraining Centre Participants' Return to Work: a Study on Employment Agencies Level

This paper is aimed at identifying labour market factors impacting vocational retraining centre participants' return to work on Employment Agencies level and at comparing results to unemployed people's return to work (Social Code Book 111). Databases are regional return to work rates of 2006 graduates, selected labour market indicators 2007, and the 2007 labour market classification of the Institute for Employment Research (IAB). The n=75 Employment Agency districts where 74.5% of the participants followed-up lived were analyzed using analyses of variance and multiple loglinear regression. Compared to the unemployment context (Social Code Book III), the impact of the labour market is much lower and less complex. In the multiple model, the regional unemployment rate and the regional tertiarization rate (size of the service sector) are found to be significant and superior to the IAB-classification. Hence, participants' return to work is less dependent on labour market conditions than unemployed people's return to work (Social Code Book III).