The overall employment rate in all the 27 EU member states rose to 65.4% last year, up from 64.5% in 2006 and 62.1% in 2000, according to figures published on 22 July by the Commission's statistical body Eurostat. However, the data continues to reveal a large gap between north and south.
While the Scandinavian countries along with the UK and Austria top the list, with employment rates of over 70%, Italy, Romania and Malta are performing the worst, with rates remaining below 60%.
It must be added, however, that the countries with the most positive figures also rely more strongly on part-time workers than those struggling the most. In the Netherlands, almost every second worker (46.8%) is only employed part-time, while this is only the case for 2.6% in Slovakia.
Despite improvements in recent years, the EU is likely to miss the target of at least 70% employment which it set itself at the Lisbon summit in 2000 (see our Links Dossier).
Prospects are even less promising when it comes to the employment of people aged over 55. Although the positive trend continues, with figures up from 43.5% in 2006 and 36.8% in 2000 to 44.7% last year, the EU's 50% target seems out of reach.
On the other hand, the Union is nearing the 60% target set in 2001 for female employment. For 2007, Eurostat reports an employment rate of 58.3%, up from 53.6% in 2000.
When it comes to differences between male and female employment, the bloc's northern countries again outperform their southern counterparts. While Finland (4 percentage points), Sweden (5) and Lithuania (6) record the smallest gaps, Malta (37), Greece (27) and Spain (22) occupy the bottom of the list.
In its annual joint employment report published in February, which assesses the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy in the member states, the Commission set out recommendations for those countries lagging behind.
