Self-employment programs and outcomes for disadvantaged jobseekers

People considered at a disadvantage in the labour market, such as the long-term unemployed, mature-aged jobseekers and people from a non-English speaking background pose a significant challenge for policy makers. Policy interventions, such as job search training and other forms of intensive assistance for these groups, can be undone by the potential for discrimination that they face in the labour market. Self-employment provides the means to circumvent these issues. The New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS), operated under the Job Network, has in the past been very successful in placing people into various forms of employment, although the persistence of these outcomes remains largely unknown due to the timing of post-programme monitoring. In this paper the outcomes of a cohort of NEIS participants who had been off the financial assistance provided under the scheme for around 24 months are examined. The feasibility and likely impacts of expanding the scheme for disadvantaged groups are discussed.