| Author (Corporate) | European Commission |
|---|---|
| Series Title | COM |
| Series Details | (2012) 173 final (18.4.12) |
| Publication Date | 18/04/2012 |
| Content Type | Policy-making |
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Europe's 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth sets a target of 75% of 20-64 year olds in employment by 2020. If the target is to be met, employment in the EU will have to increase by 17.6 million additional jobs from its current level. However, during the crisis, the employment rate has fallen to 68.9% (3Q2011), with EU unemployment remaining persistently above 9.5% since early 2010 and climbing to 10.2% mark in February 2012. Although employment gains of 1.5 million were recorded by mid-2011, these have done little to offset the 6 million job losses incurred in the EU since 2008. The deceleration of growth since mid-2011, with a less favourable outlook for 2012 and widening divergences between Member States and regions, have only increased the challenge in terms of employment, social inclusion and combating poverty. Article 3 of the Treaty establishes full employment and social cohesion as EU objectives. These objectives remain the core concerns of EU citizens and are at the heart of Europe 2020. Prospects for employment growth depend to a large extent on the EU’s capacity to generate economic growth through appropriate macroeconomic, industrial and innovation policies. At the same time, strengthening job-rich growth undeniably calls for employment policies that generate favourable conditions for job creation, facilitate positive transitions, increase the labour supply and improve its geographic and skills matching with labour market needs. The EU's 2012 Annual Growth Survey calls for resolute action to step up job creation and ensure a job-intensive recovery, and this message was forcefully echoed by Heads of State and Government at the 2012 Spring European Council. This policy Communication seeks to complement the employment priorities of the Annual Growth Survey with medium-term policy guidance in function of the Europe 2020 employment objectives. It builds upon the Employment Guidelines, sets out actions requiring particular emphasis in the present context and aims at building trust among all actors and generating confidence to put the necessary employment reforms in motion. In doing so, it also responds to the call from the European Council to back up the new economic governance with a closer monitoring of employment and social policy, particularly where these can have an impact on macro-economic stability and growth. The Communication is accompanied by a series of Staff Working Documents, elaborating on how employment policies intersect with a number of other policy areas in support of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. While labour market dynamics will need to be generated mainly at national level, this Communication puts EU levers into motion in support of a job-rich recovery, addressing both the demand and supply sides of the labour market and taking further steps towards creating a genuine EU labour market. |
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| Source Link | http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0173:FIN:EN:PDF |
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| Subject Categories | Employment and Social Affairs |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
