Brussels, 30/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - Glimpsed here (an increase in household income) and there (a slight drop in unemployment), the handful of positive signs of a stabilisation of the social and employment market situations in the EU are still not enough to constitute grounds for celebrating an end to the shockwaves caused by the economic and financial crisis, according to the latest quarterly review of employment and the social situation by the European Commission, which was presented on Monday 30 June.
Commissioner Laszlo Andor (Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) summed up in a single sentence the reasons why the current economic recovery can be regarded as having feet of clay: “Many people are still experiencing serious difficulties in finding a job, in particular those who have been unemployed for a long time”. These two phenomena are highlighted by the quarterly review to temper the optimism of anyone wishing to categorise the economic crisis as a disturbing nightmare from which we have now woken up.
Indeed, the effects of the crisis are still making themselves felt, from whichever angle one chooses to observe the social or employment market situation. Although there is net job creation in most member states at the moment (increase of 0.2% in the first quarter of 2014), mainly in the services sector, “the quality of jobs remains a concern, since growth in employment is mainly driven by temporary and part-time jobs”, not forgetting the facts that the growth in question is very slight and unemployment remains close to its record high (10.4%, down from 10.9%). Furthermore, for the long-term unemployed, a figure which includes many young adults (25-29 years of age), the situation is scarcely improving and here, the record level does not even seem to have been definitively reached yet.
The other figures paint a similar picture. After four consecutive years of decline, gross available household income increased in the first half of 2013. However, there are no signs of this increase in the poorest households. Another group is also emerging: women. Although the gap between men and women has closed in recent years, the latest available figures show that the unemployment rate for women is falling less than that of men. According to the review, “women tend to be significantly more under-employed in all age groups (involuntarily working part-time), and large differences persist between countries in women's labour market participation rates and working hours”, possibly due to family-related constraints.
Lastly, the quarterly review concentrated on the recent development of worker mobility within the EU. The observation is that this mobility is picking up speed, spectacularly so in some cases. The number of workers from southern Europe has increased by 38% between pre-crisis and post-crisis period, whilst the number of workers from the East fell just as significantly, for example from Poland (-41%) and Romania (-33%). Germany and the United Kingdom continue to be seen as the Eldorados of modern times. The typical intra-European migrant is young, with a high level of education, an employment rate higher than locals and, the review stresses, is less likely than locals to fall back on social benefits. (JK)