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BackThis week, the European Commission presented the “Employment in Europe Report 2009”. The report is the main instrument of the Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities to analyse the employment and labour market developments within the European Union and the candidate countries. Key message of the report: the current crisis has a massive impact on the EU labour markets and undoes the largest part of the employment growth achieved since the year 2000.
Doubts about fairness and efficiency of the European system
The ones to bear the brunt of the crisis are quickly identified: men, young people, the low-skilled and workers on temporary contracts. In order to be able to meet the challenges of the coming years, the report analyses two core issues of the future EU labour market policy: employment dynamics and the impact of climate change on the labour market. The dynamism of the EU labour market is considerable. Each year, between a fifth and a quarter of all European workers change their jobs. The fluctuation rate of young workers (15 to 24 years) does even stand at about 70 %. Long-time unemployment in the EU, however, is still a major problem, be it with regard to the number of unemployed or the length of time. What is interesting is that the report has doubts about the fairness and the efficiency of the European System. The situation is compared to what happens in the USA, where in accordance with the Commission the problem of long-term unemployment is far better controlled than in Europe. The report also claims that long-term unemployment as a result of strict legal provisions to protect workers is steadily increasing but that it falls when labour market policy measures are promoted.
The contribution of “green” jobs make to a higher employment level is only limited
The policy of reducing carbon emissions will significantly change the employment structures in the EU states the report. The argument is that the underlying structural changes will lead to a relocation of workers and have an impact on all industrial sectors, qualification groups and regions. On the whole, the impact on the overall employment level is probably quite limited. The reason for this is that new green jobs are created and that some existing jobs will be lost. What is, however, important is that adequate training and education concepts are created both within and outside companies.
The report concludes by asking Europe not only to restrict itself to tackle the recession; on the contrary, it should use the opportunity of creating a more productive, more innovative, more qualified and greener economy with open and integrative labour markets. Of course the report also includes the “magic word” Flexicurity, which is praised on the one hand as a remedy to modernise the labour markets and as a guarantee for a successful recovery on the other.
Further information:
Press release of the Commission on the “Employment in Europe Report 2009”
The ones to bear the brunt of the crisis are quickly identified: men, young people, the low-skilled and workers on temporary contracts. In order to be able to meet the challenges of the coming years, the report analyses two core issues of the future EU labour market policy: employment dynamics and the impact of climate change on the labour market. The dynamism of the EU labour market is considerable. Each year, between a fifth and a quarter of all European workers change their jobs. The fluctuation rate of young workers (15 to 24 years) does even stand at about 70 %. Long-time unemployment in the EU, however, is still a major problem, be it with regard to the number of unemployed or the length of time. What is interesting is that the report has doubts about the fairness and the efficiency of the European System. The situation is compared to what happens in the USA, where in accordance with the Commission the problem of long-term unemployment is far better controlled than in Europe. The report also claims that long-term unemployment as a result of strict legal provisions to protect workers is steadily increasing but that it falls when labour market policy measures are promoted.
The contribution of “green” jobs make to a higher employment level is only limited
The policy of reducing carbon emissions will significantly change the employment structures in the EU states the report. The argument is that the underlying structural changes will lead to a relocation of workers and have an impact on all industrial sectors, qualification groups and regions. On the whole, the impact on the overall employment level is probably quite limited. The reason for this is that new green jobs are created and that some existing jobs will be lost. What is, however, important is that adequate training and education concepts are created both within and outside companies.
The report concludes by asking Europe not only to restrict itself to tackle the recession; on the contrary, it should use the opportunity of creating a more productive, more innovative, more qualified and greener economy with open and integrative labour markets. Of course the report also includes the “magic word” Flexicurity, which is praised on the one hand as a remedy to modernise the labour markets and as a guarantee for a successful recovery on the other.
Further information:
Press release of the Commission on the “Employment in Europe Report 2009”