Press Release: Commission says Lisbon job targets are still within reach if Member States tackle problem regions and focus on jobs for women and older workers

The European Commission published its 'Employment in Europe 2002' report on 6 September 2002. The report, published annually, discusses the European labour market performance against the backdrop of both the recent economic slowdown, and the structural improvements in European labour markets since the mid 1990s. The report also highlights the role of quality in work for productivity and overall employment performance, and further addresses remaining imbalances in the European labour markets, notably by gender and across regions. Finally, it analyses the main employment trends in the candidate countries and discusses labour market characteristics of an enlarged Union. Although this year's 'Employment in Europe' report appears at a difficult time, with Europe facing serious uncertainties about its future economic and employment performance, there is evidence that Europe today is better placed to face such challenges.

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/employment_social/news/2002/sep/employment_in_europe2002.pdf http://ec.europa.eu/comm/employment_social/news/2002/sep/employment_in_europe2002.pdf

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