Results in advancing the State Labour Inspectorate and NEA reforms discussed at the closing event of the project “Technical Assistance to the Government and Parliament for Promoting Fair Recovery Policies and Economic Justice”

The project aimed to reduce informal employment, strengthen state social insurance budget revenues and promote active labour market policies. Results include policy papers, a voucher concept for SMEs moving into the formal sector, payslips for employees, new performance indicators for the State Labour Inspectorate and the National Employment Agency, an econometric model and a draft law on the automated wage-increase subsidy mechanism. In 2023, the number of unemployed people placed by the Agency rose by about 20%.

Experts concluded that fighting informal employment should be the main fiscal consolidation strategy, as the budget loses roughly EUR 1 billion annually, and that both institutions need stronger governance. A study by Expert-Grup on the Inspectorate's performance monitoring and evaluation framework was also presented, recommending a balanced set of indicators that avoids excessive bureaucracy.