European Commission publishes review of social & employment situation in EU

The European Commission has just published its EU Employment and Social Situation Quarterly Review Winter Edition.

Some key points from the report are summarised below:

• The economic recovery continued to strengthen in most Member States, but growth remained uneven.
• The employment rate for the EU has now returned to its pre-crisis value, but in many Member States employment rates are still far from those of 2008. Employment rates improved across all population groups and most notably for older workers.
• Service sectors, both tradable and non-tradable, continue to drive employment growth in the EU. Permanent and full-time employment for 15-64 year-olds continues to increase but at a slower pace than in 2014.
• Unemployment has continued to gradually recede but remains high. Unemployment declined in most Member States but there are large differences in unemployment rates across Member States.
• Long-term unemployment saw its largest decline since 2014 and declined more than short-term unemployment. Nevertheless, about 10.5 million people in the EU had been unemployed for more than a year in the third quarter of 2015.
• The activity rate in the EU has continued its steady increase.
• The financial situation of EU households continued to improve thanks to higher income from work and social benefits. Nearly all Member States saw a growth in their household income and fewer EU households needed to draw on savings or run into debt to cover current expenditures, with the exception of low-income households.
• Labour productivity growth has weakened in many Member States since 2008 and the onset of the crisis and remained weak for the EU as a whole in the year to the third quarter of 2015. Productivity growth at sectorial level shows a mixed picture across sectors and Member States.