From benefits to brooms. Case study reports on the implementation of active labour market policies for Roma at local level

This paper summarises the findings of micro-level empirical research conducted in twelve settlements across five European countries - Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Spain – regarding access to employment for Roma with low levels of education and the active labour market policies (ALMP) supporting their inclusion in the labour market. The research has been conducted under work package 19 ('Policy puzzles with Roma employment') of the FP7 funded project, NEUJOBS. The aim of this paper is to gain an in-depth insight into how active ALMP aimed at Roma and other vulnerable groups are implemented locally. We also attempt to discern which practices and problems relate to creating centrally-designed policies aiming to improve Roma employment and, as a result, challenge the extremely high unemployment rate experienced by this population. The first part of the report includes a synthesis of the findings across five countries, while the second part incorporates more detailed country-specific research reports.