ABSTRACT
In the early 1990s, the monopoly of public employment services was lifted in most northern and central European European Union (EU) countries, followed by the southern EU countries in the mid- to late 1990s. By continuing to provide a public employment service, deregulation is aimed at extending the choice of employment services. The structural changes in the economy demanded greater flexibility of the labor market. Welfare state organizations and communities were strengthened through the introduction of active labor market policies. In most European countries, liberalization brought in its train the abolition of barriers to entry of service providers into the market, but the overall coverage of the public employment services was retained without any major capping of resources. Image problems and customer dissatisfaction with the quality of the services provided by the Public Employment Service has led to changes in the public employment service.
