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1. The Committee takes note of the Government's report for the period ending 30 June 1990.

2. In the past few years, labour market policy has been redefined to place emphasis on "active" measures directed towards market flexibility and workers' skills rather than "passive" measures to assist the unemployed as formerly. It has none the less been influenced by the economic policy which the Government deemed necessary to reduce the budget deficit and redress the balance of payments. Since 1988, Parliament has concentrated on structural labour market problems, particularly as regards wage policy, the unemployment insurance system, inequality in unemployment and the training and further training requirements of certain categories of workers.

3. These new approaches are reflected in a number of amendments that were adopted in 1989-90 following tripartite negotiations, to the legislation on the public employment service and the unemployment insurance system (with the aim, inter alia, of developing private placement activities), on measures to create jobs for young people (which are now decentralised and simplified) and on training and apprenticeship places (the responsibility is transferred to the vocational training schools). The Committee notes in particular, among the "active" labour market policy measures, the job offer scheme which is designed to combat long-term unemployment by offering temporary work to the unemployed; this scheme was revised in 1989 and provides entitlement to training. As regards workers already in employment, the Government attaches great importance to further training in view of the technological developments and demographic factors.

4. The Committee notes from the information supplied by the Government, supplemented by the information available at the ILO or contained in the OECD documents, the persisting trend towards relatively high unemployment. Since its observations of 1989 and 1990, the overall unemployment rate has risen from 7.9 per cent in 1986-87, to 8.6 per cent in 1988, reaching approximately 10 per cent in 1990. Long-term unemployment remains the most difficult problem and largely concerns low-skilled workers. It can be noted from the recent OECD economic survey that stabilising inflation seems to require a rather high unemployment rate.

5. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information regularly on the implementation of the active labour market policy. It would be particularly grateful if the Government would provide data, as far as is possible, permitting an evaluation of the impact of the job offer scheme on long-term unemployment, the effects of the measures to decentralise employment promotion, or of the liberalisation of placement activities, while maintaining a public employment service that operates in accordance with the relevant rules. More generally, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would situate the employment policy within the overall economic policy, indicating the priorities granted to the objectives of growth, full employment, and the control of inflation and balance of payments, respectively.