EMPLOYMENT IN BIHOR COUNTY. CONCRETE RESEARCH: 'THE PERCEPTION OF THE EMPLOYERS OF BIHOR ON THE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICE'

Abstract

This article carries out a quantitative, but also a qualitative analysis of the activity of Bihor County Agency for Employment (AJOFM Bihor) in 2018. In the first part, the article aims to treat the theoretical aspects related to employment, invoking the significance that the specialized literature attaches to the concepts of supply and demand of workforce, active population, employed population, labor resources, active and passive policies, as well as considerations on the impact of employment on the economy and the individual. Afterwards, a few quantitative aspects of the 2018 Bihor workforce structure are presented, as well as the results of a qualitative research carried out through interviewing 16 subjects, specialists from the socio-economic units in the county, in their position of employer representatives. The research method used is the interview-based sociological investigation, which aims to capture all of the aspects that are subject to the study in an in-depth manner, and the investigation tool used is the interview guide. The qualitative research aimed to gather knowledge on the perceptions of the employers in relation to the activity of the Public Employment Service, represented by the Bihor County Agency for Employment (concerning the general activity of the service, the way in which the Job Fair is carried out, and the manner in which the employers communicate with the persons looking for a job). At the end, we present the conclusions of the research, which can be a useful tool for the public service in order to optimize its own activity. Thus, the analysis of the subjects’ answers generally revealed that the majority of the employers have a positive view on the activity of the institution, believe that it is preferable to continue to communicate with it, arguing that it has numerous and quality resources, that it manages an accurate database of the unemployed persons in the county, divided by areas, levels of training and education, that it offers advice, qualification and re-qualification courses, offers an updated list of vacant positions, facilitating the identification of the persons appropriate for various jobs. Among the measures proposed by the subjects in order to optimize the activity are: more investments in advertising and online platforms, the involvement of vocational schools in the process of the entry of the youth on the labor market, and the timely notification and motivation of the skilled unemployed persons to participate in the Job Fairs.

Keywords

• workforce supply and demand; total population; employed population; active policies; the Job Fair