We analysed a new counselling and support programme for people with low employment prospects in Austria. The Austrian Public
Employment Service introduced regional pilots to investigate whether a new counselling strategy could improve labour market
outcomes for this group. Eligible unemployed individuals could opt for third-party counselling and support, access a wide
range of low-threshold services, and focus on personal stability rather than job placement. The goal was to achieve similar
or even better labour market outcomes at lower cost. By comparing pilot and control regions, we found that introducing the
offer resulted in higher costs without improving labour market outcomes.
JEL-Codes:J64, J68
Keywords:Long-Term Unemployment, Active Labour Market Policy, Public employment service, Counselling, Job placement
Research group:Labour Economics, Income and Social Security