Already in November 2023, the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO) directed criticism at the Employment Service for inadequate accessibility, and since then, new complaints have been filed.
According to information in Altinget, nearly half of all job seekers who called the Employment Service during a one-year period did not get through. Nine out of ten attempts to use the agency's chat were not responded to either.
The government is now commenting on the criticism directed at the agency's accessibility.
Following the issue closely
"The government takes seriously the criticism that the Parliamentary Ombudsman has directed at the Employment Service regarding the agency's accessibility and service. It is of the utmost importance that job seekers can contact the Employment Service and that they address the deficiencies identified by JO", writes Sophia Metelius, State Secretary at the Ministry of Employment, in an email to TT.
She further states that the government is following the issue closely and "will have a dialogue with the Employment Service and follow up on the agency's work to improve accessibility".
Regrets the situation
The Employment Service itself acknowledges "that the agency's accessibility is not satisfactory".
"We regret the situation with low accessibility, and I would say that it is our biggest challenge right now. We are naturally not satisfied, and the accessibility is not acceptable. Work is constantly being done to improve accessibility, but unfortunately, it has not yet yielded any results", writes the agency in a comment to TT.
The deficiencies are explained, among other things, by the rising unemployment. The agency has also received a government assignment to prioritize individuals who are far from the labor market, which is resource-intensive. As a result of reduced budget allocations, the agency has also been forced to reduce its staff.
