Evaluation of the Greenlandic employment strategy 2015

Based on a high and increasing number of unemployed, the Government of Greenland developed an employment strategy in 2015. Since the publication of the strategy, the number of unemployed in Greenland has decreased significantly. During the same period, the economy has witnessed a financial boom, which in itself creates jobs and increases the demand for labour.

The Ministry of Mineral Resources and Labour asked Copenhagen Economic to carry out an evaluation of the strategy in order to estimate its actual contribution to the reduction in the number of unemployed people during the strategy period as well as provide insights that might be used going forward.

The main conclusions of our study are:

• After taking account of the current financial boom in Greenland, we find that the strategy has reduced unemployment by 535-585 persons.
• The full effect of the strategy is not implemented yet. As a result of the strategy, many young people are now enrolled in education, and the full effect will therefore not show until later when they enter the labour market. The implication is that the strategy will continue to contribute to lower unemployment going forward.
• We find that the impact of this and future employment strategies are affected by factors outside the scope of such strategies. In particular, we find that when supply of and quality of e.g. housing and schools are not meeting demand, employment strategies are less able to reduce unemployment.

The study is commissioned by The Government of Greenland, Ministry of Mineral Resources and Labour.