Key facts
For more than 20 years, the Confederation has concluded agreements with the cantons in the area of public employment services. The cantonal implementation offices, in particular the regional employment centres, are tasked with integrating jobseekers quickly and permanently into the labour market. The unemployment insurance fund pays for the administrative costs incurred by the cantons, which amounted to around CHF 539 million in 2021. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), as the supervisory authority, measures how well the regional employment centres succeed in integrating jobseekers using an effectiveness index which is based on four indicators. The results of the cantons and regional employment centres can be compared on this basis. This benchmarking provides an incentive for the cantons to continuously improve. It is up to the cantons to decide which strategies they wish to use to achieve successful reintegration.