Reductions in labor tax wedges and increases in public spending on active labor market policies have larger effects during periods of slack, in part because they usually entail some degree of fiscal stimulus.
In contrast, reforms to employment protection arrangements and unemployment benefit systems have positive  10  See Christiano, L., M. Eichenbaum and S. Rebelo (2011), “When Is the Government Spending Multiplier Large?”, Journal of Political Economy, 2011, 119 (1), 78 – 121.