Institutional change in Public Employment Services through outsourcing and governance. A comparative analysis between Asturias and Catalonia

Public Employment Services in the framework of the European Employment Strategy show variations in the levels and types of externalisation and in the role that different actors have adopted in the implementation of active employment policies. In Spain, the process of decentralisation of these policies culminated in the creation of the Autonomous Employment Services at the beginning of the 21st century, which resulted in different models of provision.

From a comparative perspective, the main changes in the Public Employment Service of the Principality of Asturias and in the Servei d’Ocupació de Catalunya are analysed, showing the structural nature of outsourcing in these services and the evolution of their characteristics since their creation until 2022. It also presents the changes that have occurred in their governance systems as a consequence of the diversification of actors and the intensification of the liberalisation process with the arrival of the economic crisis. Finally, some of the challenges facing PES in the current transition context are presented.