There is no doubt that digitalization processes make positive effects on the development of a company as emphasized and evidenced by many research papers and studies. However, there are a few empirical research studies on digitalization in the public sector, particularly in public administration institutions. Therefore, the present research aims to identify and compare the level of digitalization in four national public administration institutions: the State Revenue Service, the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, the State Social Insurance Agency and the State Employment Agency. In Latvia, very good technical solutions and a broadband mobile Internet network are available, the number of Internet users increases all over the world every year, but are they widely used by public administration institutions to provide consumers with appropriate digital services? The State Revenue Service has reached the highest level of maturity in digitalization, and the institution has also allocated the most funds from its budget to information technologies and the maintenance of their systems. The level of digitalization is low in the State Employment Agency and the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs. The public requires public administration services to be available digitally on a 24-hour/7day basis.

Abstract Digital tools facilitating everything from health to education have been introduced at a rapid pace to replace physical meetings and allow for social distancing measures as the Covid-19 pandemic has sped up the drive to large-scale digitalisation. This rapid digitalisation enhances the already ongoing process of datafication, namely turning ever-increasing aspects of our identities, practices, and societal structures into data. Through an analysis of empirical examples of datafication in three important areas of the welfare state – employment services, public service media, and the corrections sector – we draw attention to some of the inherent problems of datafication in the Nordic welfare states. The analysis throws critical light on automated decision-making processes and illustrates how the ideology of dataism has become increasingly entangled with welfare provision. We end the article with a call to develop specific measures and policies to enable the development of the data welfare state, with media and communication scholars playing a crucial role.

Topicality of the research is that a significant part of unemployed stay unemployed for a very long time even when the economic situation allows to get employed. This part of society abuses the social security system, misuse the State Employment Agency services. Typically, they are seen by society as less educated, less capable than other groups and they need special assistance in job searching process. The aim of the pilot study was to explore how more creative and skill-oriented methods can be used in career counselling with long-term unemployed. The methodology includes following steps: small group of long-term unemployed (8 women) were asked to reflect on their unemployment and answer 4 questions developed by the author. Questions are covering their opinions on reasons of being unemployed, what kind of a result they want to achieve, what resources they can use and how they are going to feel in case they become employed. Results shows that most participants of the group consider that they can’t find a job because of external obstacles. They mention the State Employment Agency and relatives (families) as resources to use. All respondents were confused answering question about their feelings and cannot name any feeling they might feel getting a job. The results and process of the session show that long-term unemployed have difficulties with soft skills and emotional intelligence.

The purpose of the article is to assess the impact of restrictive quarantine measures in 2020-2021 related to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rural labor market, the level of employment and the extent of rural poverty. Research methods. The basis for the study were general scientific and economic methods, creative heritage of the classical political economy founders, publications of Ukrainian scientists on the impact of quarantine restrictions related to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, on social and labor relations in rural areas, regulations, data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine and the State Employment Service, Internet resources and other sources. The monographic approach was used in the analysis of the employment rate dynamics of the rural population, changes in the labor market and the scale of poverty caused by the lockdowns introduction in 2020-2021. Normative and positive approaches are used to highlight the labor potential of rural areas and opportunities for its implementation in a pandemic. A number of abstract-logical techniques allowed formulating intermediate and final conclusions and proposals. Research results. The phenomenon of the category "labor" as a process of conscious and purposeful activity on the transformation of natural and economic factors of production in order to meet human needs is considered. The institutional preconditions of spatial differences in the concentration of jobs in rural and urban areas and the deepening of inequality in their development are highlighted. Changes caused by a number of restrictions on economic activity in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine are analyzed, in the field of the rural population employment by age groups, employment status, unemployment among working-age people, the number of employees who received unemployment status, as well as the workload per vacancy registered with the State Employment Service, the dynamics of its provision of services to rural residents. Public opinion that in the employment and rural labor market due to non-compliance with quarantine restrictions on economic activity, technological features of agricultural production and lower density, the rural population suffers less from quarantine measures is refuted. As a result of the introduction of two all-Ukrainian lockdowns in 2020–2021, the number of employed rural population decreased by 361 thousand people, or by 7%, of them employed - by 198 thousand and self-employed - by 153 thousand. The unemployment rate for this period also increased by 1.7 percentage points, or 11.5%. In April-May 2021, almost 120,000 workers received the status of unemployed dismissed from agricultural, forestry and fisheries enterprises, or one in five of the total in the economy. In addition, the number of applicants for one vacancy in rural areas has doubled, while reducing the financial capacity of the State Employment Service, especially with regard to the implementation of active forms of employment recovery. An integral consequence of quarantine restrictions was the spread of poverty among the rural population and the further social exclusion of people with unprotected self-employment. Scientific novelty. Methodological approaches to assessing the negative impact of quarantine restrictions related to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural employment, the rural labor market and the well-being of rural households have been further developed. Practical significance. The results of the impact of quarantine restrictions on employment and the rural labor market in 2020-2021 may be taken into account when developing measures to support micro and small businesses and self-employed agricultural workers in extreme conditions of society, such as a pandemic. Tabl.: 3. Figs.: 5. Refs.: 35.

BACKGROUND: After decades of local, state and national efforts to increase employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities, progress has been slow, with a mere 17.9% of persons with a disability employed in 2020 compared to 61.8% for persons without a disability (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2021). Individuals with disabilities have demonstrated their abilities and desire to work, including those with significant disabilities, yet our country remains entrenched in outdated and ineffective models of day services (i.e., sheltered workshops, non-work programs) and precious public dollars continue to be used for these services that congregate and segregate individuals, pay subminimum wages, and deny individuals their human and civil rights. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to describe one state’s efforts to advance employment for working age individuals with disabilities through a statewide Employment First initiative called Work to Include. Indiana is now in its third year of this grassroots initiative driven by a coalition of self-advocates. Major activities of the initiative are discussed, including passing Indiana’s Employment First law, holding statewide Town Hall meetings, establishing 11 local Work to Include teams, developing and implementing a state Employment First plan, launching local and statewide Disability Employment Awareness month campaigns, using social media and webinars to disseminate information, hosting Employment First Summits, and collaborating with employers and state agencies to promote employment outcomes. CONCLUSION: Next steps toward systems change are discussed, including the establishment of an Employment First office at the state and securing an Executive Order from the governor to make the state a model employer.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to major changes in the functioning of social systems, including employment. This raises the need for a comprehensive study of the ongoing processes and forecasting their consequences. The subject of this article is the analysis of the remote form of employment scaled due to the 2020-2021 pandemic. The object of the study was the attitude of working Muscovites to the new form of employment. The use of qualitative and quantitative research methodology made it possible to clarify the ambiguity of remote work, to identify changes in the family and professional field that have occurred as a result of the transfer of labor functions to a remote format. The built-in indicators made it possible to assess the attitude towards distance employment, identify changes that have occurred between relatives and colleagues, assess the prospects for the further use of distance technologies, and speak out about the acceptability of remote work. The results showed that, in general, remote work as a new form of employment is accepted, and is considered by many as very convenient for the metropolitan metropolis in connection with significant savings in time and money spent on the road. Most have no plans to move from the metropolis while maintaining distance employment, since Moscow is labeled not only as a place of work and income, but also as a city of opportunities for leisure, development and life. The possibility of moving is considered only in connection with an increase in wages, career growth; in connection with personal and family reasons or with moving from Russia in general, as well as if the situation in small towns is favorable. The results presented in this article may be of interest to researchers dealing with the transformation of the labor market and employment, as well as to specialists from government bodies who are involved in the implementation of state employment policy and in the development system of urban agglomerations.