Stricter scrutiny of job seekers’ activity reports leads them to apply for more jobs. As a result, they find work faster and get better-paid jobs, according to a study by the Institute for Labour Market and Education Policy Evaluation (Ifau).
“Stricter control causes job seekers to apply for more jobs, but it seems to take different lengths of time before that leads to work,” says Johan Vikström, one of the report’s authors, in a written comment.
Unemployed people must apply for a certain number of jobs each month to avoid risking the loss of part of their unemployment benefits.
The study is based on register data from the Swedish Public Employment Service and Statistics Sweden and covers more than 100,000 job seekers between 2014 and 2017.
