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Report on employment in Europe 2004

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Report on employment in Europe 2004

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Employment and social policy > Social and employment situation in europe

Report on employment in Europe 2004

Document or Iniciative

Commission report on Employment in Europe 2004. Recent developments and prospects [Not published in the Official Journal].

Summary

Economic growth in the enlarged European Union slowed in 2003 whilst world growth accelerated, driven by the United States and Japan. As a result, employment growth in the EU in 2003 was virtually zero, unlike in the United States where jobs continued to be created steadily.

It is the most vulnerable sectors of the labour market in the European Union, especially the industrial sector, young people and the low skilled, that suffer most in this difficult situation. What is more, the employment situation is very uneven throughout the 25 Member States, with close to half of them seeing employment decline in 2003 and the other half enjoying employment growth of more than 1 %.

Employment is a key element of the Lisbon strategy, which is intended to increase the volume and enhance the quality of work and its role as a promoter of social inclusion and cohesion. The employment strategy is built around three quantitative objectives, namely an employment rate of 70 % for the entire population, 60 % for women and 50 % for older people by 2010. Although progress was made in 2003 in terms of women’s and especially older people’s employment, the employment rate as a whole stagnated at around 63 %.

In general, the failure to hit the Lisbon targets reflects the structural problems in the labour market in the various Member States. Radical reforms are required to enhance the prospects of employment for women, young people and older persons. At the same time, these efforts to increase the rate of employment must be accompanied by an increase in productivity and job quality.

The key factors in employment: institutions active labour market and policies (ALMPs)

To increase the rate of employment, it is crucial for the economy to open up to trade. However, in the current situation, two specific instruments may also need to be deployed: expenditure on ALMPs and the use of part-time work. As far as ALMPs are concerned, the report views the measures on behalf of young people and to improve public employment services as being particularly effective. Their positive impact on employment is even more marked in countries where unemployment and social security benefits are lower in comparison with income from employment.

However, the report plays down the long-term impact of tax incentives on employment. The level of taxation and social security contributions does not appear to affect the overall rate of employment appreciably, although it does have a detrimental effect on low-skilled employment. As a general rule, ALMPs are more effective where wage bargaining is coordinated at central or sectoral level than in decentralised bargaining systems.

Employment in services is lagging behind the United States

There is a considerable gap in employment in the services sector between the EU and the United States, where the sector accounts for a greater proportion of the labour market. This is particularly true in the case of women and older workers, which means that there is untapped potential for creating jobs in services. The highest job creation rates in the United States are for both the most highly and least skilled jobs, although some EU Member States are equally as dynamic in this area.

The differences in employment in services between Europe and the United States reflect radical differences in consumption patterns and the level of final demand. Easier access to work for women and older persons in the United States generates a greater demand for services which explains why jobs are being created more quickly in this sector. The less dynamic employment situation in the EU is accounted for less by inflexibility, which is frequently cited as an obstacle to creating low-skilled jobs, than by weak household consumption.

In order to better tap the potential for employment in services, it is up to the Member States to set up a genuine single market in services and also to redirect public investment towards creating relatively well-paid and highly-productive jobs in social education and health services.

Education and training to get people out of low-paid and insecure employment

The various types of contracts and new forms of recruitment enable enterprises to respond more effectively to demand in real time. However, this flexibility carries the risk of lower job security for certain workers, which can adversely affect productivity and equality of employment. Although it is possible to make the transition from a temporary or low-paid job to a more stable and better paid job in most cases, the rate of exclusion from the labour market is still very high for vulnerable workers. There are marked differences between the Member States for workers attempting to make the transition from unemployment to insecure employment and then to permanent employment.

Women, the low-skilled and older workers are more likely to have temporary contracts and are more vulnerable in terms of pay and advancement prospects. The report takes the view that qualifications and training offer the best opportunities of strengthening a person’s position in the labour market. As a rule, flexibility should not marginalise the most vulnerable workers. Active labour market policies must deploy public employment and training services to make it easier to gain access to and improve one’s position in the labour market.

Employment and globalisation

In terms of growth and employment, the European economies have benefited from integrating their markets and from the increasing pace of globalisation. In the short term, the 2004 enlargement should not have a significant effect on pay and employment in the EU. By contrast, technological progress and higher productivity in some sectors are likely to lead to more restructuring and relocation. Transitional policies must be implemented to enable workers who have been relocated or laid off to retrain or strengthen their position in the labour market.

The differences in pay vis-à-vis international competitors in some sectors will not necessarily result in job losses in the EU. Policies geared to productivity and research will enable flexible and highly qualified labour forces to reap the benefits of globalisation. EU companies will need to modernise to maintain their competitive edge if job security is to be safeguarded for everyone.

Context

Despite the efforts made to reform its labour markets, the EU is not on schedule to hit the employment targets set in Lisbon for 2010. The report’s priority recommendation is to encourage greater participation of women and older persons in the labour market, mainly by creating more jobs in services. Moreover, training and public employment services must be developed in order to strike a balance between flexibility and job security. The European employment strategy offers a suitable instrument for reinforcing national action on employment and harnessing globalisation for the benefit of the EU’s economic and social objective.

RELATED INSTRUMENTS

Report from the Commission (2003). Employment in Europe 2003 [Not published in the Official Journal]

Report from the Commission (2002). Employment in Europe 2002 [Not published in the Official Journal]

Report from the Commission (2001). Employment in Europe 2001 [Not published in the Official Journal]

Report from the Commission (2000). Employment in Europe 2000 [Not published in the Official Journal]

Third progress report on cohesion – towards a new partnership for growth, jobs and cohesion

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Third progress report on cohesion – towards a new partnership for growth, jobs and cohesion

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Third progress report on cohesion – towards a new partnership for growth, jobs and cohesion

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Regional policy > Review and the future of regional policy

Third progress report on cohesion – towards a new partnership for growth, jobs and cohesion

Last updated: 24.10.2005

Fostering structural change: an industrial policy for an enlarged Europe

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Fostering structural change: an industrial policy for an enlarged Europe

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Fostering structural change: an industrial policy for an enlarged Europe

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Employment and social policy > Job creation measures

Fostering structural change: an industrial policy for an enlarged Europe

Document or Iniciative

Communication from the Commission of 20 April 2004 “Fostering structural change: an industrial policy for an enlarged Europe” [COM(2004) 274 final – not published in the Official Journal].

Summary

The Commission intends to set out an industrial policy for the European Union (EU) that matches up to the issues facing Europe, particularly the effects of enlargement and international competition. This policy aims to promote competitiveness and encourage more appropriate regulation, so that European industry remains innovative and continues to create jobs and growth.

The Member States and the European institutions must organise the structural changes in European industry around the factors of production of an enlarged Europe and the innovative capacity of a knowledge-based Europe.

No deindustrialisation but necessary structural change

Although the Commission does not see a general process of deindustrialisation at EU level, structural changes are profoundly affecting the industrial landscape. Jobs and resources in labour-intensive sectors or those facing intense competition are being shifted towards sectors where there are comparative advantages. The impact of these structural changes is positive for the EU as a whole, but may be damaging at local level for certain sectors or regions.

However, these shifts in jobs and resources must be backed by measures to promote research and innovation in order to maintain the EU’s comparative advantage in sectors with high added value. The pressure of international competition has intensified in recent years, and is affecting more and more industrial sectors. The relocation of jobs to emerging economies no longer affects only traditional labour-intensive sectors; increasingly, its effects are being felt in hi-tech industries and the services sector. The only way Europe will be able to take full advantage of industrial globalisation is by adopting an industrial policy that focuses on competitiveness.

Opportunities afforded by enlargement

The enlargement of 2004 offers European industry significant opportunities, provided that the restructuring of the relevant sectors is not hampered by national protection measures. On the demand side, the internal market has been extended to include booming national consumer markets. On the supply side, companies can reorganise production to benefit from the competitive advantages of the new Member States.

The new Member States have an important role to play in the transition to a knowledge-based economy. Their inclusion can boost the EU’s industrial performance and stimulate the internal market in the face of competition from non-member countries. The competitive advantages of the new Member States should make it possible for jobs that would otherwise have been transferred to Asia to be relocated within the EU. The sectors most affected by the arrival of new companies are food and beverages, transport equipment, base metals and metal products.

Tools to foster structural change

The Commission’s objective, in line with the priorities set out in the 2002 communication on industrial policy in an enlarged Europe, is to rally public stakeholders around three areas of action for fostering change in European industry.

The first area of action concerns regulation and all the laws governing industrial activity in the EU. The aim is to bring legislation into line with the needs of businesses, both at national and European levels. Particular attention should be paid to competitiveness and to analysing the combined effects of different regulations on each sector of activity.

The second goal is to ensure that EU measures in different areas that have an impact on industry, particularly research, competition, employment and regional development, are better coordinated. The Commission intends to use these different policies to improve productivity gains and promote the use of knowledge. In more general terms, greater synergy between the EU’s different policy areas will boost the competitiveness of European businesses.

The third target concerns the sectoral dimension of EU industrial policy. The Commission aims to make EU industrial activity more visible in key sectors by involving interested parties, thus highlighting the added value of industrial policy at European level.

Background

This Communication forms part of the debate on how industrial policy can contribute to improving industrial competitiveness, launched by the Commission’s communication of 11 December 2002. It should help European industry meet the objective the EU set itself at the 2000 European Council in Lisbon.

Related Acts

Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament of 21 November 2003, “Some Key Issues in Europe’s Competitiveness” [COM(2003) 704 final – not published in the Official Journal].

Communication from the Commission of 11 December 2002 on industrial policy in an enlarged Europe [COM(2002) 714 final – not published in the Official Journal].

Another Normative about Fostering structural change: an industrial policy for an enlarged Europe

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Enterprise > Industry

Fostering structural change: an industrial policy for an enlarged Europe

Document or Iniciative

Communication from the Commission of 20 April 2004 “Fostering structural change: an industrial policy for an enlarged Europe” [COM(2004) 274 final – not published in the Official Journal].

Summary

No deindustrialisation but necessary structural change

Opportunities afforded by enlargement

Tools to foster structural change

Background

Related Acts

Communication from the Commission of 11 December 2002 on industrial policy in an enlarged Europe [COM(2002) 714 final – not published in the Official Journal].

Productivity: The Key to Competitiveness of European Economies and Enterprises

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Productivity: The Key to Competitiveness of European Economies and Enterprises

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Productivity: The Key to Competitiveness of European Economies and Enterprises

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Enterprise > Industry

Productivity: The Key to Competitiveness of European Economies and Enterprises

To alert policy makers to the recent under-performance of the European Union in labour productivity growth, its causes and its implications for the goals set by the European Council in Lisbon in 2000. The Communication is limited to analysis of the field of new technologies and innovation and to related issues.

2) Document or Iniciative

Communication from the Commission of 21 May 2002 on Productivity: The Key to Competitiveness of European Economies and Enterprises [COM (2002) 262 final – not published in the Official Journal].

3) Summary

Definition

In formal terms, labour productivity is the quantity of labour required to produce a unit of a specific product. In the macroeconomic context, labour productivity is measured as a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of employed population.

Productivity growth depends on the quality of physical capital, improvements in the skills of the labour force, technological advances and new ways of organising. Productivity growth is the principal source of economic growth.

Background

The Communication is part of the strategy adopted by the Lisbon European Council in 2000, the objective of which is to make the EU “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”. Current trends in EU productivity growth are not, at the moment, sufficient to attain the economic, social and environmental objectives set in Lisbon in the remaining years to 2010.

The recent slowdown in productivity growth in the EU will, logically, weaken European competitiveness. Enterprises will be competitive only when they can achieve sustainable growth in labour and total factor productivity that permit them to beat the costs per unit of output, and the non-cost characteristics, of other firms.

In addition, deceleration in productivity hampers improvements to the standard of living.

Productivity growth is these days significantly determined by investment in information and communication technologies (ICT).

State of play

During the latter half of the 1990s, growth in labour productivity in the European Union slowed down (from an average of 1.9 % in the first half of the decade to 1.2 % in the period 1995-2001), whilst employment growth picked up considerably (from a decline of 0.6 % in the first half of the decade to 1.2 % in the period 1995-2001). Employment expanded by 1.8% in 2000 despite the slowdown in the second half of the year.

There are marked differences between the Member States. Austria, Greece and Ireland have recorded constant productivity growth since 1990 at a level close to that of the United States. This is probably a reflection of the opportunity taken by these countries to benefit from the Internal Market following their accession to the EU.

Role of ICT

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are a core element of the knowledge society and an important complement to research and development (R&D). It appears symptomatic that those Member States recording rising productivity levels close to those of the United States are the ones where the use of ICT is pervasive. In other words, productivity gains are closely related to the use and diffusion of ICT. The productivity gap between the EU and the United States is in part a reflection of the lower levels of ICT spending here.

The importance of ICT derives from better processing of information and, thus, a reduction of the co-ordination costs which are unavoidable in a decentralised economy: most improvements have been made in the organisation of production, distribution and inventory management.

European manufacturing in recent years

In contrast to previous decades, the 1990s saw lower productivity growth in manufacturing in the EU compared with that in the United States.

However, the trend for capital-intensive industries (textile fibres, pulp and paper, man-made fibres, iron and steel, non-ferrous metals, etc.) has been positive.

In technology-driven industries (pharmaceuticals, chemical products, office machinery and computers, electronic and TV and radio transmitters, medical equipment, etc.), growth over the same period has also been notable.

Nevertheless, a comparison of EU figures with those of the United States shows that technology-driven industries represented around 35% of manufacturing value added in the United States compared to around 24% in the EU. These figures are symptomatic of the relatively low position of ICT compared with other industries within the EU.

Service sector in recent years

The problem of below average productivity growth which has been seen in all economic sectors over recent years is particularly pronounced in the service sector. However, it is difficult to measure production with any precision in this sector in an economic phase where changes in technology are extremely rapid. Even if the sector’s share in the EU’s GDP is rising, the implicit employment growth has not materialised sufficiently in the EU to improve the employment situation.

With regard to the importance of the service sector, the EU compares unfavourably with the United States. Given that the service sector is an important user of ICT, this is particularly indicative of the EU’s slow progress in the area of new technologies.

In the service sector there are marked differences in productivity. Member States which liberalised and deregulated service sectors very early, like the United Kingdom and Finland, are likely to have had faster productivity growth than other Member States.

Human capital

A well-trained labour force is the key to the economy and productivity. Its quality is based on education, training and lifelong learning. However, recent years have seen a modest share of ICT knowledge amongst the working population, which has surely accentuated the problems of rapid ICT diffusion across the Member States.

At the same time, the demand for labour in the EU in recent years has shifted away from traditional skills towards modern and high-skilled human capital labour and this reflects changes in the content of jobs themselves. However, the increase in demand for more skilled labour is faster than improvements in the educational attainment of those entering the labour market.

Paradoxically, following the burst of the “dot.com bubble”, it appears that the problem of skill imbalances may lose some of its urgency. However, given the speed of the on-going technological transformation, the skill intensity of our economies will increase. A network of coherent policies covering improvements in education, science, training, mobility, etc. will therefore be crucial in ensuring that the emerging demand for skills is met on a sustainable basis.

Enterprise policy and competition policy

The EC Treaty recognises the complementary nature of enterprise and competition policies. Thus the Lisbon goal calls for policies that establish an environment conducive to enterprise growth and innovation while ensuring that the market players are subject to uniform rules. On the one hand, competition induces firms to search for efficiency-enhancing solutions that lead to product and process innovation. On the other hand, enterprise policy corrects market failures and enables more firms to engage in market transactions while increasing their innovative potential.

Despite this complementary nature, attention should be paid to the different emphases of enterprise policy and competition policy. It is essential that a balanced approach be applied to take into account the different characteristics of the two policies:

appropriate delineation of the reference market with regard to the product or service and the geographic area;
co-operation between firms in the field of innovation;
business restructuring and mergers;
taking into account of the impact of technological development and innovation on future competitive conditions;
assessment of the legitimacy of certain State aid.

Enterprise policy and sustainable development

Even if European industry contributes economically and socially to sustainable development by creating jobs, inevitably it exerts pressures on the environment. Nevertheless, it is possible to combine economic growth with a reduction in environmental pollution. This has been the case in Europe for the manufacturing industry’s energy consumption and emissions of acidifying gases, ozone-depleting gases and greenhouse gases.

Despite the undeniable costs for enterprises of implementing the environmental policy, it can also enhance competitiveness and economic growth by improving efficiency in production and creating new markets.

Conclusions

Economic growth will increase only if productivity rises. Improvements in enterprise productivity depend heavily on progress in ICT and innovation, and a labour force better adapted to the needs of industry.

4) Implementing Measures

5) Follow-Up Work

Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a(2007-2013) [COM(2005) 121 final – Not published in the Official Journal].

Agenda for jobs and workers’ skills

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Agenda for jobs and workers’ skills

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Agenda for jobs and workers’ skills

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Employment and social policy > European Strategy for Growth

Agenda for jobs and workers’ skills

Document or Iniciative

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 23 November 2010 – An agenda for new skills and jobs: A European contribution towards full employment [COM(2010) 682 final – Not published in the Official Journal].

Summary

The Commission establishes a flagship initiative in the area of participation in labour markets and vocational skills. In the context of the Europe 2020 strategy this initiative contributes to the joint efforts of the Member States aimed at increasing by 75 % the employment rate of women and men for the 20-64 years age group by 2020.

It is essential to meet this target in order to ensure the sustainability of the welfare systems, economic growth and public finances of EU countries.

Improving the functioning of labour markets

The effective implementation of the common principles of flexicurity contributes to the proper functioning of labour markets and the reduction of structural unemployment. The principles of flexicurity must be strengthened in order to reduce divisions in labour markets and to support their transition.

To this end, this initiative favours:

a joint approach by EU institutions, Member States and social partners, to strengthen policy and establish principles of flexicurity;
the development of workers’ skills throughout their working life, in particular by means of adapted financing;
social partners’ participation at European level.

In addition, the Commission proposes to involve all stakeholders in order to monitor and manage flexicurity, particularly public and private employment and training services and civil society organisations.

Upgrading workers’ skills

Workers’ skills must be adapted to the changes in European society, particularly in the sectors of innovation, new technologies, the environment and health. Education and training systems must respond to these changes, cooperating with business and developing work-based learning.

In this context, the European Commission recommends a series of key actions:

creating an online skills Panorama, presenting changes in, and the needs of, the EU labour market;
establishing the European Skills, Competences and Occupations classification (ESCO);
reforming systems for the recognition of professional qualifications;
launching an Agenda for Integration of third country nationals, to valorise their skills and training;
encouraging geographical mobility, by improving the enforcement of the principle of free movement of workers in the EU.

These actions must be accompanied by an assessment of school curricula, the employability of students and the development of some professional sectors, as well as support for informal learning.

Improving the quality of work and working conditions

The quality of working conditions enables workers’ potential to be developed and business competitiveness to be enhanced.

The Commission therefore proposes to re-examine in particular:

European legislation on employment, health and social security, and information and consultation of workers;
the 2007-2012 health and safety strategy, so as to propose a follow-up strategy for the period 2013-2020.

The joint action taken by the Commission, Member States and social partners should support the fight against undeclared work and discrimination in the world of work.

Fostering job creation

National and European employment policies should take into account business needs. Such policies should be accompanied by measures to support entrepreneurship and the creation of innovative firms.

In order to create a job-friendly environment, the Commission proposes to adopt guiding principles to simplify administrative and legal procedures for hiring and firing, business creation and self-employment, to reduce non-wage labour costs, and combat informal or undeclared work.

Furthermore, measures should be adapted to support business creation and management, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that represent 99 % of European firms.

Improving quality in work: a review of recent progress

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Improving quality in work: a review of recent progress

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Improving quality in work: a review of recent progress

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Employment and social policy > Community employment policies

Improving quality in work: a review of recent progress (November 2003)

Document or Iniciative

Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 26 November 2003: Improving quality in work: a review of recent progress [COM(2003) 728 final – Not published in the Official Journal].

Summary

Quality in work is one of the key objectives both of the Guidelines 2003-2005 and those proposed by the Commission for the period 2005-2008. There is a positive correlation between quality and progress towards full employment and stronger growth as highlighted in the Lisbon strategy revised in 2005.

Although quality in work in Europe has improved, this communication states that it is not enough. The Commission proposes investing more in this area. The examples show that Member States which are more concerned with quality in work perform better as regards employment and productivity.

According to the communication, the European labour force is increasingly well trained and competent. Firms are investing more in training. Employment rates are improving and the gender gap in employment and unemployment is narrowing. There are fewer occupational accidents, although their frequency in certain sectors remains considerable.

However, the results obtained are highly unequal. The overall trends conceal major differences between Member States. Besides, certain groups such as older workers, young people, the disabled and third country nationals have particular difficulties in finding a quality job with reasonable career prospects. Gender pay gaps remain considerable. Childcare services and nursing care are inadequate.

The ten following criteria and their application to the notion of quality of work, are analysed:

Intrinsic job quality: the possibility to make career progress (in terms of pay and status) is essential to remain at work in the labour market. In 2000, high degrees of dissatisfaction were observed in Spain, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom. Austria, Denmark, France, Ireland and the Netherlands had a satisfaction rate of 90%. To reduce the number of working poor and unemployment traps, Member States have above all reduced social security contributions or adopted in-work benefit schemes. The adoption of new flexible forms of work organisation giving workers room for autonomy and a perspective for their further career are crucial elements in this respect.
Skills, lifelong learning and career development: here it is important to increase the investment in human resources both on the part of public authorities as well as individuals and enterprises. This objective requires the creation of incentives to convince the stakeholders of the need for training. The report also stresses the importance of improving quality and efficiency with a view to promoting productivity, competitiveness and active ageing. Particular attention should be paid to older workers and the low skilled and to offering them basic skills in information and communications technology (ICT). More women participate in training than men at European level and in most of the Member States.
Gender equality: this dimension is closely linked to those concerning training, flexibility and work-life balance. Member States’ efforts to reduce gender employment and unemployment gaps vary from training (Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), review of tax, benefit and pensions systems and incentives for enterprises (Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and France), encouraging entrepreneurship (Greece, Sweden and Luxembourg) and better care services for children and other dependants (Ireland, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom).
Health and Safety at Work: The high absenteeism due to accidents at work and work-related illnesses and occupational diseases as well as the high number of permanent disabilities from occupational origin are some illustration of the most visible consequences that poor health and safety at work can have on the labour market. In the European Union, in the year 2000, a total of 158 million days’ work was lost, corresponding to an average of 20 days per accident. Around 350.000 workers were obliged to change their job as a consequence of an accident. Nearly 300.000 workers have various degrees of permanent disabilities and 15.000 are entirely excluded from the labour market. The new Community strategy on health and safety at work focuses on the need to consolidate a culture of risk prevention, to combine a variety of policy instruments (legislation, social dialogue, progressive measures and best practices, corporate social responsibility and economic incentives) and to develop partnerships between all the actors involved.
Flexibility and security at work: this indicator includes flexibility with regard notably to work organisation, working time, contractual arrangements and national or geographical mobility. At the same time quality requires adequate security for the workers to ensure sustainable integration and progress on the labour market, and to foster a wider acceptance of change. There is a role both for public authorities to encourage part-time work where it is under-developed, in particular through changes in the legislation, and for social partners to promote the quality of part-time jobs through collective agreements. It is also necessary to avoid the emergence of a two-tier labour market consisting on the one hand of workers with a high level of protection and, on the other hand, of marginal workers.
Inclusion and access to the labour market: major progress has been achieved in activation and prevention policies that enable citizens to access the labour market and remain in employment. It is a matter of giving a new start to inactive persons and the unemployed in the form of training, retraining, work practice, a job, or other employment measure. Other labour market tools to promote inclusion include Making work pay policies, life-long learning and the positive management of company restructuring. Facilitating participation in employment for people who are distant from the labour market is also a major plank of the EU Inclusion Strategy, which covers many other policy fields such as housing, health care, and social protection systems. The results in the framework of this agenda are included in the Joint Report on Social Inclusion 2003.
Work organisation and work-life balance: Flexible work arrangements and adequate care services for children and other dependants are essential to ensure the full participation of women and men on the labour market. Some efforts to reconcile work and family life have been implemented in most Member States. They include: more flexible work and working-time organisation (Germany, Belgium and France); part-time work facilities (Sweden, Luxembourg and Ireland); development of parental leave (Denmark, France, UK, Spain and the Netherlands); new measures, quantitative targets and deadlines on childcare provision (Belgium, France, UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Sweden). However, childcare provision remains difficult and the Commission recommends better use of ICT in order to allow teleworking.
Social dialogue and worker involvement: progress has been made as regards lifelong learning collective agreements (Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy and Portugal), equal opportunities aiming at reducing gender pay inequalities (Belgium, Finland, Netherlands and Ireland), at combating race discrimination (France, Denmark and Ireland), at increasing employment of disabled persons (Belgium Italy and Ireland) and at preventing age discrimination (Demark and Austria); health and safety at work collective agreements on the prevention and treatment of stress (Belgium), on well-being and psychological work environment (Denmark) and against the excessive workload (the Netherlands); flexibility and work-life balance collective agreements on parental leave (Sweden), on family leave and family-linked working time patterns (Belgium, Greece, Italy, and the Netherlands), on sabbaticals (Finland), on childcare arrangements (Greece, Ireland and the Netherlands), on flexitime and teleworking (Italy, Austria, and Denmark) and on temporary agency workers (Italy and Germany).
Diversity and non-discrimination: it is mainly a matter of adopting comprehensive national strategies to promote integration in the employment market of disadvantaged groups such as older workers, third country nationals and people with disabilities. Besides the incentives addressed to employers to recruit older workers and the reform of the retirement and pre-retirement systems, the Commission proposes the implementation of life-long learning strategies and adapting working conditions. For migrant populations it is important to improve recognition of diplomas and to ensure proper assessment of migrants’ skills. As regards policy to encourage the activity of disabled people it is a matter of implementing effective disability mainstreaming in their national employment policy.
Overall work performance: EU productivity growth compared to the US has been disappointing in particular in ICT using services, which alone represent 21% of total employment. Productivity growth per person employed, at about 2% in the 1980s and the second half of the 1990s, fell to 1% in the 1996-2002 period and remains weak. Investment in human capital and training can contribute to reversing this slowdown. Life-long learning for all becomes a central element of a strategy for productivity growth. The pervasiveness of knowledge is crucial to enhance and diffuse throughout the whole economy the use of new technologies and to prevent segmentation of the labour market between workers with different types of education. However, there is a need to be active in all areas which contribute to raising productivity: social dialogue and work relationships; flexibility and adaptation to new forms of work organisation; balancing flexibility and security; career prospects for employees; health and safety at work.

The annex to this communication contains a list of key indicators and context indicators recommended by the Council of the European Union and quantitative data relating to each Member State.

Related Acts

Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Employment and Social Policies: a framework for investing in quality [COM(2001) 313 final – Not published in the Official Journal].
Since the Lisbon European Council the Commission has focused on continuous modernisation of the European social model and investment in human capital. The promotion of quality as the driving force for a thriving economy facilitates improving the inter-relationship between economic and social policies. The annex to this communication notably contains graphs explaining the importance of investment in quality for the labour market and the improvement of social policies.