World Economic Forum (22.01.2018) As the types of skills needed in the labour market change rapidly, individual workers will have to engage in life-long learning if they are to achieve fulfilling and rewarding careers. Using big data analytics of online job postings, the methodology in this report demonstrates the power of a data-driven approach to discover reskilling pathways and job transition opportunities.

The SPI database was developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as a repository of country-level data on social protection programs e.g., social insurance, social assistance and labor market programs in Asia and the Pacific. The main objective is to have an internationally comparable database of government-financed social protection programs including expenditure, coverage, size of benefits and distributional impact on poverty and gender. 

It enables in-depth analysis of social protection at the country and regional levels while capturing the adequacy of social protection in a country by looking at program expenditures, coverage, distribution, and impact. With uniformity in metrics and methods, the SPI can be used as a benchmark to improve social protection through better design, coverage, gender equity, and poverty targeting.

OECD (24.01.2018) Providing American seniors with better work incentives and opportunities will be crucial for the United States to meet the challenges of its rapidly ageing population. By 2028, more than one in five Americans will be aged 65 and over, up from fewer than one in six today, according to a new OECD report.
Working Better with Age and Fighting Unequal Ageing in the United States finds that employment rates among older workers in the United States are above the average across OECD countries. In 2016, 62% of all 55-64 year olds were employed compared with the OECD average of 59%. However, employment rates are much lower among some older population groups. Early retirement is prevalent among workers from vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds, often occurring as soon as Social Security benefits become available at age 62. Poverty among seniors is a challenge: more than 20% of peopled aged 65 and over have incomes below the relative poverty line – defined as half of the median disposable household income – compared with the OECD average of less than 13%.

OECD (15.01.2018) France’s health-care system offers high-quality care. Average health outcomes are good, public satisfaction with the health-care system is high, and average household out-of-pocket expenditures are low. As in other OECD countries, technology is expanding possibilities for life extension and quality, and spending is rising steadily, while an ageing population requires substantially more and different services. The main challenges are to promote prevention and cost-efficient behaviour by care providers, tackle the high spending on pharmaceuticals, strengthen the role of health insurers as purchasing agents and secure cost containment. Good-quality information and appropriate financing schemes would ensure stronger efficiency incentives. Disparities of coverage across social groups and health services suggest paying greater attention to co-ordination between statutory and complementary insurance provision. Ongoing reforms to improve prevention and co-ordination among care providers are steps in the right direction. However, progress in the development of capitation-based payment schemes, which can reduce the incentives to increase the number of medical acts and encourage health professionals to spend more time with their patients, and performance-based payment schemes in primary care need to be stepped up to respond to the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and curb supplier-induced demand and social disparities in access to care.

OpenGovAsia (08.11.2017) Evidence shows that for many people, digital interventions can be as effective as face-to-face services.

Le monde (23.01.2018) La secrétaire d’Etat à l’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes, Marlène Schiappa, a annoncé qu’un rapport avait été commandé pour tenter d’améliorer la condition des pères lors d’une naissance.

ILO (22.01.2018) The ILO’s flagship report shows that while the global unemployment rate is stabilizing, unemployment and decent work deficits will stay at persistently high levels in many parts of the world. As the global economy recovers but with a growing labour force, global unemployment in 2018 is projected to remain at a similar level to last year’s, says a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
According to the World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2018 , the global unemployment rate has been stabilizing after a rise in 2016. It is expected to have reached 5.6 per cent in 2017, with the total number of unemployed exceeding 192 million persons.

lemonde.fr (23.01.2018) La secrétaire d’Etat à l’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes, Marlène Schiappa, a annoncé qu’un rapport avait été commandé pour tenter d’améliorer la condition des pères lors d’une naissance.

TDG (23.01.2018) L a situation restera «mitigée» pour l'emploi dans le monde en 2018. Après trois ans de hausse, le taux de chômage devrait un peu reculer, mais le nombre de demandeurs est stable à un peu moins de 193 millions de personnes, a indiqué lundi l'OIT à Genève.

 Diario La República (21.01.2018)  La protección social de la infancia debería ser una prioridad mundial; sin embargo, el gasto promedio de los países para tales fines, sin contar la salud, apenas equivale el 1,1 por ciento del Producto Interno Bruto (PIB), alertó Naciones Unidas. Aunque las cuantías en relación con el PIB muestran notables diferencias entre estados y regiones, el saldo general denota la vulnerabilidad de millones de infantes, tanto en naciones ricas como pobres.

Le Monde (22.01.2018) A l’heure où chaque trimestre compte pour le calcul de la retraite, il est utile de connaître les différents dispositifs de majorations qui existent. Pour chaque enfant : quatre trimestres sont attribués à la mère au titre de la maternité. En cas d’adoption d’un enfant mineur, quatre trimestres sont répartis entre les parents selon leur choix. A ces trimestres de maternité, ou d’adoption, sont ajoutés jusqu’à quatre trimestres au titre de l’éducation de l’enfant. Par défaut attribués à la mère, ils peuvent être répartis entre les parents.

 JeuneAfrique (19.01.2018)  Le Parlement marocain s'apprête à examiner un amendement à la loi sur la sécurité sociale, qui prévoit une transmission numérique des données des plus grosses entreprises et un meilleur contrôle des déclarations médicales. Faciliter la relation avec les entreprises et se donner les moyens d’un contrôle plus efficace… La Caisse nationale de sécurité sociale (CNSS) fait d’une pierre deux coups. Avec le projet de loi adopté en Conseil de gouvernement et qui devrait être prochainement soumis au Parlement, le régime de sécurité sociale, dont le cadre remonte à 1972, fait un saut dans la modernité.

 Euronews (18.01.2018)  Advances in technology are having a big impact on a broad range of industries, provoking intense debate about the future of work.  Workers across the world are increasingly aware of what many consider an existential threat to a wide array of jobs. Safe and efficient autonomous vehicles, for example, may make truck drivers obsolete in the not too distant future. At the same time, advocates of technology argue, people around the planet are finding new and often better opportunities thanks to continuing industrial innovation. The world of work is changing, from Silicon Valley to the Nile Valley, where Spotlight visited to discover how developments in agri-technology are revolutionising crop cultivation.

developmentpathways.co.uk (16.01.2018) In April 2018, a new law will enter into force in Kyrgyzstan which abolishes its main poor relief scheme and replaces it with a system of universal child benefits. This is a major step forward in Kyrgyzstan’s attempt to build an inclusive, lifecycle social protection system, since the nation already offers universal old age pension coverage and disability benefits.

worldbank.org ( 2017) This paper makes several contributions. First, it presents a ‘guidance note’ on the framework for Social Registries, anchoring the definition of these systems in their functions along the Delivery Chain and their social policy role as inclusion systems, while clarifying terminology in a manner that is consistent with IT standards in the discussion of their architecture as information systems. Second, it illustrates the diverse typologies and trajectories of country experiences with Social Registries with respect to their (a) institutional arrangements (central and local); (b) use as inclusion systems (coverage, single or multi-program use, static or dynamic intake and registration); and (c) structure as information systems (structure of data management; degree and us of interoperability with other systems). These patterns primarily derive from a review of Social Registries in a sample of 20 countries), (Azerbaijan, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Djibouti, Georgia, Indonesia, Macedonia, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Pakistan, the Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Turkey, and Yemen). The paper also draws on experience in other countries (Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, Egypt, Jordan, Vietnam, India, Estonia, Belgium, the US, Canada, Australia, and others) to illustrate specific points. Third, this paper develops a basic ‘Assessment Tool’ covering the core building blocks of Social Registries using a ‘checklist’ style of questions. Given the wide diversity of Social Registries in both their role in social policy and in their architecture, the approach is not prescriptive: it does not advocate for any specific model or blueprint for Social Registries. Any diagnostics or recommendations that emerge from use of this Guidance Note and Assessment Tool will be country specific. Some key take-away messages include: (a) the importance of recognizing both the role of the ‘front lines’ for outreach, intake and registration (Social Registries as inclusion systems) and the ‘back office’ functions of Social Registries as information systems; (b) the potential power of Social Registries as integrated and dynamic gateways for inclusion; (c) the recognition that Social Registries are generally part of end-to-end systems for specific programs, integrated social protection information systems, and/or even ‘whole-of-government’ approaches; and (d) there is significant diversity in the typology and trajectories of Social Registries across countries and over time.

EuBulletin. (02.01.2018) Over the past 20 years, digitalization has been transforming the contemporary job market, unleashing fear among workers for the future of their jobs. Many day-to-day activities have been likewise transformed by technology and digital economy – ranging from Uber replacing taxi, Airbnb replacing hotels or robots replacing blue-collar manufacturing. Some predictions suggest that digitalization and robotization will cause job losses of as much as 50% of all jobs over the next few decades.

Euractiv (10.01.2018) Labour markets have undergone significant change over the past decade and all indications are that this will accelerate in the future. In order to respond to these shifts and make labour markets fit for the realities of life and work in the 21st century we need a complete overhaul of the social structure underpinning the way that we organise, classify, support and regulate work. Only by creating open, enabling, inclusive and sustainable labour markets can we drive the growth and competitiveness needed for our economies to flourish.

 LaRepublica (16.01.2018) La falta de empleo en América Latina se mantuvo en aumento durante 2017 y fueron los jóvenes los que más sintieron esta realidad. Es así que la tasa de desocupación, entre los 15 y 24 años, en América Latina aumentó de 18,9% en 2016 a 19,5% en 2017, según el informe "Panorama Laboral" publicado por la Organización Internacional de Trabajo (OIT).

 South China Morning Post (16.01.2018) Government trials in 26 cities will have Tencent’s WeChat replace traditional state-issued social security cards with digital version tied to users’ accounts  WeChat, the popular mobile messaging, social media and payments platform run by Tencent Holdings, is poised to become further entrenched in everyday life in China under a new programme that adapts it as a user’s electronic social security card.

Le Monde (16.01.2018) Le bilan de la CNAM publié mardi fait état de plus de 10 000 accidents du travail et 596 maladies professionnelles pour 2016. Les femmes sont les premières victimes Déressions, troubles anxieux… Plus de 10 000 affections psychiques ont été reconnues comme accidents du travail en 2016, 596 l’ont été comme maladies professionnelles, indique l’Assurance-maladie. Ces chiffres, publiés mardi 16 janvier dans son bilan « Santé travail : enjeux et actions », révèlent une hausse continue sur cinq ans des troubles psychosociaux liés au travail, alors même que « le nombre d’accidents du travail d’autre nature baisse », précise Marine Jeantet, directrice des risques professionnels de l’Assurance-maladie. Entre 2011 et 2016, la part des affections psychiques dans l’ensemble des accidents du travail a progressé de 1 % à 1,6 %.

newindianexpress (14.01.2018) When it comes to issues concerning industrial and construction workers, the health and safety aspects should receive top priority, said Labour Commissioner K Biju.

Le Matin (14.01.2018) Jusqu'à ce jour, 70.519 personnes ont manifesté leur souhait d’adhérer au régime d’auto-entrepreneur ; 83% de ces demandes ont été validées, 58.693 porteurs de projet ayant décroché ce statut, près de 1.000 auto-entrepreneurs étrangers sont inscrits au régime, 1.000 AE et porteurs de projet ont été accompagnés… Tels sont les chiffres fournis lors des journées d’information dédiées au Statut de l’auto-entrepreneur organisées sous forme d’une caravane qui a sillonné 5 régions du Royaume. L’occasion de clarifier le rôle et la mission de chaque institution impliquée dans l'opérationnalisation de ce nouveau statut. Des progrès importants ont été faits, mais il reste encore du chemin à parcourir.

Euractiv (15.01.2018)  L’UE reste confrontée à un taux d’investissement faible, à un chômage élevé chez les jeunes et à une fracture sociale croissante. Pour 2018, l’exécutif européen prévoit le taux de croissance le plus haut depuis la crise de 2007-2008. Le chômage, qui se situe actuellement à 7,3 % dans l’ensemble de l’UE, affiche un fort recul.Les États membres ont également équilibré leurs comptes publics, puisque le déficit moyen dans l’union est à présent de 1,1 % du PIB.

What can social insurers do to maximise potential benefits of digital transformation of health and care while ensuring the sustainability of their systems?

To respond to this question, ESIP organised an expert roundtable on digital health and social insurance together with MEP Michał Boni (EPP, Poland).

ESIP brought together experts from social insurance as well as EU policymakers, health professionals, and industry representatives to discuss their vision of the future of digitalised health systems. Find out more in the press release.  Did you miss the event? Find out more in the conference report below.