Sciulli, DarioMenezes, António Gomes de2019-12-202019-12-202018-01Sciulli, Dario; Menezes, António Gomes de (2018). The performance of Portuguese job-centers, “Working Paper Series”, nº 1/18, 31 pp.. Ponta Delgada: Universidade dos Açores, CEEAplA-A.http://hdl.handle.net/10400.3/5275This paper analyzes the performance of the country-wide system of 86 jobcenters in Portugal, which have the public mandate of matching unemployed individuals with vacancies. The paper uses a rich micro dataset for the years 1998-2002 which allows the construction of individual unemployment duration spells and subsequent employment outcomes, while observing individual characteristics such as age, education, gender and past job experiences and other labour-market variables defined at the local-labour market or job-center level. To assess the performance of the job-centers, we analyze unemployment duration spells and hazard rates and matching rates’ indicators between individuals and vacancies at the job-center level. The analysis is mainly done using graphical and statistical tools. Among the several conclusions and policy recommendations, it should be noted that job-centers are a most important resource in promoting the matching of young and unskilled workers and of workers with no previous job experiences.engPublic PolicyUnemploymentworking paper