Tag: jobs

The high-level working group on growth and jobs, set up at the last EU-US summit in November 2011, will give the go-ahead to launch negotiations for a transatlantic trade agreement, said Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU.

The European Commission has urged EU countries to ensure that all young people up to age 25 receive a quality job offer, education or internship within four months of leaving formal education or becoming unemployed.

Thousands of staff members working at the EU institutions are expected to go on strike in Brussels today (8 November) to protest against potential budget cuts. If unsuccessful, unions plan another strike during the EU summit later this month.

This week offers us an opportunity to look back at the significant achievements that have been made in opening up Europe's markets. There is no doubt that it has provided new opportunities to businesses and consumers, who can take advantage of a market place that boasts over 500 million consumers, writes Malcolm Harbour.

If civil society  engage more actively in its development and implementation, a functioning internal market can help the EU get out of the financial crisis, EU lawmakers said, in a resolution celebrating 20 years of the single market.

A key missing ingredient in solving the euro crisis is the urgent restoration of growth, which European citizens demand and several leaders are increasingly stressing. Yet, meaningful actions on a sufficient scale have not yet been taken, argue Stephany Griffith-Jones, Matthias Kollatz-Ahnen and Lars Andersen in a recent study.

Tired of vague promises and little government action, the EU’s university graduates demand clear political messages, defined strategies and informed government choices, says Raya Kardasheva.

One out of five young Europeans are looking for work and the unemployment figures are not likely to improve until 2016, while policymakers are not doing enough to reverse the trend, said EU youth organisations.

The EU executive has hit back at doubts cast in the European Parliament over its models for calculating efficiency in the use of research funds and predicting how much employment they will create.

A new study by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) maps out the effects of the economic crisis on unemployment and inequality. It blames EU leaders, notably the European Commission’s push for austerity in early 2011 and the European Central Bank’s previously tight monetary policy, for the failure to spur a recovery.

While the rest of Europe protests about austerity measures, Swiss voters have rejected a proposal to increase employees' annual minimum paid holiday entitlement to six from four weeks after firms warned it might hurt competitiveness and threaten jobs.

Union leaders from across Europe gathered in Brussels yesterday (25 January) and agreed to oppose the 'fiscal compact' treaty. They proposed an alternative set of policies – including a new role for the European Central Bank and increased investment – which they say will provide growth and jobs.

Cloud computing is changing how IT professionals work. But is it putting them out of work? Not likely, say cloud providers. 

As modest growth figures fail to dim fears of recession and employment data do not restore confidence in a recovery, experts flag a ‘worrying’ crisis outcome if structural reforms are not taken promptly to adapt the workforce to new business needs. 

Europe risks being left behind by its global competitors as a shortage of engineers and scientists feed into lower productivity and a loss of domestic and international trade, delegates at this year's European Business Summit will hear.

Matching workers' skills with the demands of employers is seen as crucial to boosting employment rates, restoring growth and tackle looming labour shortages in sectors like health care, science and the green economy.

As the European Union slowly begins to emerge from the economic crisis, member-state governments now face the tough task of reviving their job markets and getting people back into work in the coming years, against a backdrop of an EU employment target of 75% for the year 2020. EurActiv's media network reports.

Mounting national deficits will hold back economic recovery in the European Union unless governments manage to reform public spending while restoring competitiveness, according to an EU business lobby.

European industry ministers began mapping out a new industrial policy for Europe when they met in Brussels yesterday (1 March), stressing the need for a "coordinated and timely exit strategy" from the economic crisis.

Business confidence is bouncing back after the sharpest drop in economic activity since World War Two, prompting more industry leaders to start hiring again, found a survey published today (27 January) as the World Economic Forum in Davos opens.

Millions of Europeans face being locked out of the jobs market in five years time due to their lack of ICT knowledge, according to a new report which claims 90% of jobs will require computer skills.

Europeans will continue to lose jobs well into 2010 as governments wind down temporary measures put in place to stave off unemployment, according to a report by Eurofound.

The economic downturn is likely to cost as many as 25 million people their jobs by the end of 2010 as the unemployment rate nears a record 10% in the OECD group of countries, according to a report released on Wednesday (16 September).

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso spent the summer preparing his programme for the next five years after his bid to secure a second term was put on ice by the European Parliament's political group leaders in July - EurActiv asked key stakeholders to assess the Barroso Commission's achievements and failures.