| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen |
|---|---|
| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning |
| Series Title | In Focus |
| Series Details | 9.9.02 |
| Publication Date | 09/09/2002 |
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus |
|
The European Commission published its Employment in Europe 2002 report on 6 September 2002 claiming that the Lisbon employment targets could still be reached if Member States concentrated their efforts on problem regions and encouraged women and older workers to find jobs. Speaking about the report Anna Diamantopoulou, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, said:
The issue of employment growth was the focus of a European Council meeting in Lisbon in March 2000 when EU leaders agreed on a 10-year strategy for the European economy, including a framework for concrete goals in employment and training. The strategy sought to take advantage of the opportunities and challenges presented by increasing economic 'globalisation' and the new knowledge-driven economy. The aim is to raise the employment rate in the EU from an average of 61% in 2000 to 67% in 2005 and 70% by 2010 and to increase the proportion of women in employment from an average of 51% to 60%, also by 2010. The annual report discusses the European labor market performance against the backdrop of both the recent economic slowdown, and the structural improvements in European labor markets since the mid-1990s. It shows that while the employment rate rose by 0.7% in 2001 to 63.9% economic slowdown has resulted in a halt in improvements in actual employment in the first half of 2002. On this basis, the report warns that if economic slowdowns adversely affect long term potential growth then the Lisbon targets may not be achievable. However the report does show success in the recruitment of women into the labour market. At Lisbon, EU leaders agreed on the target of increasing the proportion of women in employment from an average of 51% to 60% by 2010 with an intermediate target of 57% for 2005. The 2002 report shows that more than 60% of all jobs created in the European Union in 2001 were taken up by women, raising the employment rate to 54.9%. However the report calls on the EU to tackle the ongoing gap in earnings between men and women, which currently stands at 11% in the public sector and 24% in the private sector. Recruiting older people to the workplace has proved to be more difficult with the employment rate of people aged 55 to 64 years only up 0.5% to 38.5% in 2001, still a long way off the goal set in Lisbon of 50% by 2010. The European Commission claims that one of the main lessons to emerge from the report is that quality in work goes hand in hand with both productivity and overall employment performance. It therefore suggests that policies geared at improving the quality of work can also help to increase the number of jobs. In addition to a detailed analysis of the recent labour market developments, the report examines structural changes in the European labour markets, performance gaps between European regions and the situation of the labour markets in the accession countries. Links: European Commission:
Council of the European Union: European Industrial Relations Observatory Online: European Sources Online: Topic Guides:
European Sources Online: In Focus:
Helen Bower The European Commission published its Employment in Europe 2002 report on 6 September 2002 claiming that the Lisbon employment targets could still be reached if Member States intensified their efforts |
|
| Subject Categories | Employment and Social Affairs |
