Tag: unemployment

After five years of economic crisis and the return of a recession in 2012, unemployment is hitting peaks not seen for almost 20 years, according to a report by the European Commission published yesterday (8 January), which showed growing disparity between North and South Europe.

If the Europeans do not generate a solution to the financial crisis in 2013, it is time to seriously doubt whether a solution is possible and therefore to think about the future of Europe without the European Union or with a very weakened one, argues George Friedman.

The eurozone economy shows little sign of recovering before the year-end despite an easing of financial market conditions, European Central Bank Mario Draghi said on Thursday (8 November) after interest rates were left at a record low.

The eurozone crisis has pushed Europe deeper into recession, which is now slowing the global economy, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in presenting its revised forecast for the year.

Many young Spanish and Portuguese citizens are leaving their homeland in search of better opportunities abroad, with former colonies being among the more popular destinations, reports say.

The big priority for Lithuania is to have a healthy economy, and then maybe later the country will consider joining the eurozone, Audronius Ažubalis, Lithuania's foreign minister, said in an exclusive interview with EurActiv Germany.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, reflecting growing anxiety among Europeans about their economic plight, said on Thursday (3 May) that growth should be at the heart of euro zone policy but that it needed to go hand in hand with fiscal austerity.

The European Commission will propose tomorrow (18 April) introducing a minimum salary in countries like Germany where it does not exist yet, and raise wages where they are considered too low, according to a draft seen by EurActiv.

Britain's unemployment rate held at a 13-year high of 8.4% in the three months to January, and the youth unemployment rate rose to a record high, according to data released today (14 March).

The number of people without a job increased at the end of last year, highlighting a deteriorating situation in the eurozone, according to figures released by Eurostat yesterday (31 January).

To reduce youth unemployment, training and education might not be enough, turning young people into entrepreneurs is the solution, Peter Matjašič, president of the European Youth Forum, told EurActiv in an interview. 

Despite a modest decline in unemployment since late 2009 in developed countries, the number of people unemployed for over a year is continuing to rise, according to a report published yesterday (15 September) by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

British Prime Minister David Cameron is to cut short his Italian holiday to return to London to handle the response to escalating riots in the capital, his office said yesterday (8 August).

Labour market reforms can make a positive contribution to employment growth, according to the latest report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

EU Employment Commissioner László Andor has admitted that the EU is experiencing a "jobless recovery", amid warnings from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that the situation might not improve this year.

Member states must increase efforts to help workers learn the skills needed to do the jobs that will be created in growth sectors in the coming years, according to the European Commission, which yesterday (23 November) adopted its 'Agenda for New Skills and Jobs'.

Eurozone governments panicked at the onset of the Greek crisis and now there is a real risk that hastily adopted austerity measures might prompt a double-dip recession, warned European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Secretary-General John Monks in an interview with EurActiv.

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.

Romania's employment rate has been on a downward spiral in the last ten years and is currently way behind the EU's target for 2020. Women, young people and the over-45s are particularly struggling to find work in the country. EurActiv Romania reports.

Long-term unemployment is a major problem in Slovakia, partly due to the fact that many people prefer to receive social benefits instead of slightly higher wages. The country hopes that the 'Europe 2020' strategy can help overcome this and other problems. EurActiv Slovakia reports.

Some 40% of young job seekers in Bulgaria were successfully employed thanks to help provided by family members and friends, new research has disclosed. Dnevnik, EurActiv's partner in Sofia, reports.

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.

"In just two years, Spain has gone from being Europe's biggest job creator to the fastest destroyer of jobs," remarks Jason Webb in an 11 January analysis for Reuters.

Unemployment across the 27 EU member states is set to worsen in 2010, and may not begin to fall until 2011, the European Commission said in its annual Joint Employment Report yesterday (15 December).