The basic components of the labour market are: the labour demand, the labour offer and timely, easily accessible information for those who seek employment and the vacant jobs. The lack of coordination between the first two components leads to unemployment on the hand, and to the shortage of employees on the other. In such situation, it is necessary to perform a market deregulation, in order to increase its flexibility. It can partly be achieved by applying different measures to the labour market, which depend on the economy of a particular country and vary in regard to content, intensity, numerosity, the category of the unemployed persons and other similar characteristics. Global experience (particularly in the countries with developed market economies) at creating and accomplishing programmes to boost employment are really very extensive. We can generally say that in periods of high economic activity and thus, low unemployment, such programmes are mainly meant for the so called hard-core unemployed, referring to only a particular category of the unemployed population, for whom employment is very difficult. During recession periods, programmes to encourage employment are usually directed only to certain groups of unemployed people (regarding the age, sex, qualifications, regions etc). Depending on the severity of unemployment with certain socio-demographic, socio-economical or socio-geographical groups of the unemployed population, each particular country directs such programmes of the countries which have had considerable experience in that respect. Since Croatia has been undergoing a very difficult period in various spheres of life not only with regard to unemployment, it is very important to pay particular attention to these ideas, in order to be able to select the most efficient measures that would most adequately respond to the labour market conditions of Croatia.

Mjere za poticanje zapošljavanja sastavni su dio politike tržišta rada, kako u recesijskim tako i u konjukturnim fazama privrednog razvoja. Svjetska iskustva (posebno zemalja razvijenih tržišnih privreda) u kreiranju i provođenju programa za poticanje zapošljavanja zaista su bogata. Općenito se može reći da su u razdobljima konjukture, a sukladno tome i niske razine nezaposlenosti, ti programi uglavnom namijenjeni tzv. tvrdoj jezgri nezaposlenosti (hard-core unempoyment). Radi se, naime, o onoj kategoriji unutar nezaposlene populacije koja je izuzetno teško zapošljiva. U razdobljima recesije programi za poticanje zapošljavanja obično su namijenjeni pojedinim (dobnim, spolnim, kvalifikacijskim, regionalnim i dr.) skupinama nezaposlenih osoba. U tekstu su prikazani programi zapošljavanja onih zemalja koje u tome imaju zapažena iskustva. Budući da naša zemlja u ovom času prolazi kroz zaista teško razdoblje u mnogim sferama života, pa i u zapošljavanju, nužno je posebnu pažnju posvetiti tim iskustvima kako bi se izabrale najefikasnije mjere, adekvatne uvjetima na našem tržištu rada.