Getting people back to quality jobs is a major challenge

Unemployment is tumbling. Job growth is picking up. And the economic indicators are pointing in a positive direction at last.

However, deep scars from the economic downturn remain. Long-term unemployment is among the highest in Europe, many younger people are still voting with their feet and emigrating, while much job creation is of low-paid and insecure work.

All available research shows that jobless young people and the long-term unemployed can find it hardest of all to find work, even in a recovering economy.

The Government's strategy to tackle these issues is through its Pathways to Work 2015, a strategy drawn up under the nose of the troika.

These reforms include uprooting nettlesome work disincentives, replacing old-style dole offices with “Intreo” employment centres that provide jobseekers with tailored assistance, and penalties for those who refuse to engage.

An updated version of the blueprint was published yesterday and while there are encouraging signs that pathways are being strengthened, there are growing concerns over the quality of work available at the end of it all.

First, the pathways. Plans for a return-to-work bonus – confirmed by the Taoiseach yesterday – will help make work pay and remove some of the poverty traps that have acted as barriers to low-paid employment.

Affordable childcare

Major hurdles remain, however. Access to affordable childcare, for example, is still a distant dream for many, despite repeated Government pledges to deliver a Scandinavian-style system.

The move to publicly benchmark the performance of individual Intreo centres in helping jobseekers return to work will also provide some much-needed transparency.

But with just one caseworker for every 500 jobseekers, it is hard to see what kind of meaningful engagement there has been to date with those seeking work.

It is one reason why the Government announced yesterday that it will use “third-party providers” next year to provide additional employment services focused on the long-term unemployed.

The quality of this engagement will be crucial, however. There are plenty of examples in Britain of jobseekers being forced on to the hamster wheels of poor-quality training or job preparation which gets them nowhere fast.

There will also be the continued rollout of the controversial JobBridge internship scheme, along with a so-called youth guarantee to link young jobseekers into training or education.

The path, then, is one thing. But we should have real reason to be alarmed at the quality of work available for many in today’s economy.

Low incomes

Many of those who have rejoined the workforce are on low incomes, are part of a growing “precariat”, are stuck on short-term contracts and have little hope of progression in their jobs.

It is an environment where insecure work, exploitation and freeriding on internship schemes are increasingly common.

Among OECD countries, latest figures show Ireland has the second-highest proportion of low-paying jobs. These are defined as involving a wage below €23,600. In fact, one in five workers now earns below the "living wage" – a level which campaigners agree is the minimum to afford a basic standard of living. It is a reminder that creating pathways to work isn't an end in itself.

The economic crisis has deepened a long-standing issue of job quality.

The challenge for policymakers will not just be lowering the Live Register – but encouraging the kind of employment that offers conditions and wages that are fair and affordable .