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The “Employment‐first” Welfare State: Lessons from the New Deal for Young People
Author(s) -
Finn Dan
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
social policy and administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1467-9515
pISSN - 0144-5596
DOI - 10.1046/j.1467-9515.2003.00367.x
Subject(s) - disadvantaged , unemployment , welfare state , welfare , work (physics) , labour economics , state (computer science) , full employment , economics , economic growth , political science , market economy , engineering , mechanical engineering , algorithm , politics , computer science , law
New Labour is constructing an “employment‐first” welfare state. It plans through Jobcentre Plus to transform the passive culture of the benefit system by creating more explicit links between individual behaviour and engagement with labour market programmes. The New Deal for Young People (NDYP) has been at the forefront of these changes. This paper reports on the findings from four case studies that explored how the NDYP has changed young people's experience of the welfare state. It establishes that NDYP offers a mixture of employment assistance and “pressure” and has made progress in developing front‐line services and helping young long‐term unemployed people into work. NDYP does not, however, work for all. In areas of high unemployment and for some disadvantaged groups intermediate labour markets could enhance the New Deal and make real the offer of “employment opportunities for all”.