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1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of the employment policy within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in August 2007 and the documents attached thereto, in particular the 2006 activity report of the Employment, Training and Occupational Integration Service (SEFI). The number of active jobseekers registered at the SEFI increased by 34 per cent in one year, reaching a total of 5,029 persons in December 2006. The Committee notes that 58 per cent of jobseekers are under the age of 30. At the same time, the total number of job offers across all categories shows a slight decrease of 3.2 per cent compared to the previous year, whereas assisted company contracts have risen by 40 per cent. The Committee notes that new mechanisms were established in 2006 to encourage job creation and promote wage employment on the basis of open-ended contracts. The SEFI activity report for 2006 indicates that for the first time the number of fixed-term contracts dropped sharply, thus tending to balance out the number of open-ended contracts. The Government indicates that the aim of the Ministry of Employment is to participate in the establishment of favourable conditions for the creation of sustainable activities and, for 2006 and the following years, to support job creation for 3,000 persons per year, especially to absorb the arrival of young persons on the labour market. The Government also refers to Act No. 2007-2 of 16 April 2007 concerning the obligation to employ workers with disabilities, which is due to be supplemented soon by a law relating to protected work establishments. The Government also declares that since no inventory has been undertaken since the last report, it is unable to supply new figures, especially on the active population, but that the next inventory will start in August 2007. The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying information on how account is taken of employment objectives in the adoption of the main aspects of general economic policy. It requests the Government to provide an assessment of the results achieved by the various labour market policy measures adopted, and also statistics on the level and trends of employment, underemployment and unemployment in the various sectors of activity and for the various categories of the working population.

2. Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the preparation and application of policies. In reply to the Committee’s direct request of 2005, the Government indicates that in general the social partners express the wish to be associated as early as possible with draft texts and that they sometimes deplore the fact that tripartite consultation does not cover draft legislative orders. The Government indicates that the main comment made by the social partners in the Economic, Social and Cultural Council during the revision of employment policy in 2005–06 was to emphasize the need for tools for evaluating employment policies. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the measures taken to strengthen the participation of the social partners in the preparation and application of employment policies, describing the outcome and the impact of the consultations held on the issues covered by the Convention.