Employment in Europe – 1994

Summary:

After three years of recession, little net job creation and rising unemployment, the immediate outlook for the European economy looks more favourable. Output is recovering and the increase in unemployment seems to have come to an end in most parts of the Community. Favourable developments do not signify, however, that the problem of excessive levels of unemployment is about to be resolved, still less that the failure of the Community to generate enough jobs to employ all those who wish to work — whether recorded as unemployed or not — is a thing of the past.

Despite the short-term improvement in economic fortunes, unemployment remains the major economic problem facing the Community — both now and for the rest of the decade. While the outlook for the remainder of 1994 and for 1995 can be forecast with some degree of confidence, the prospects for the longer-term are highly uncertain.

Whether economic growth can be sustained, and whether this can successfully be translated into jobs, depends in part on whether growth of the global economy continues and spreads. It also depends, however, on what happens within the Community itself. In particular, it depends on how far the longstanding structural problems identified and analysed in the Commission White Paper on Growth, competitiveness, employment published towards the end of 1993 can be overcome.

Contents:

• Part I: Employment developments
  • Chapter 1 Employment trends and prospects in the Community
  • Chapter 2 Labour force growth and participation
  • Chapter 3 Economic growth and employment
• Part II: Follow-up to White Paper on growth, competitiveness, employment: background analysis of key areas for labour market action
  • Chapter 4 Mobility, labour turnover and labour market flexibility
  • Chapter 5 Changes in working time
  • Chapter 6 Labour costs, social contributions and taxes
  • Chapter 7 Unemployment and labour market policy
  • Chapter 8 Where has job growth and decline occurred?
• List of graphs and map
• Sources