The performance of Portuguese job-centers

This paper analyzes the performance of the country-wide system of 86 job-centers in Portugal, which have the public mandate of matching unemployed individuals with vacancies. The paper uses a rich micro dataset for the years 1998-2002 which allows the construction of individual unemployment duration spells and subsequent employment outcomes, while observing individual characteristics such as age, education, gender and past job experiences and other labour-market variables defined at the local-labour market or job-center level. To assess the performance of the job-centers, we analyze unemployment duration spells and hazard rates and matching rates’ indicators between individuals and vacancies at the job-center level. The analysis is mainly done using graphical and statistical tools. Among the several conclusions and policy recommendations, it should be noted that job-centers are a most important resource in promoting the matching of young and unskilled workers and of workers with no previous job experiences.