Brussels, 15/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the European Commission published an update of its autumn forecasts (November 2001) on the employment situation in Europe. The new report describes the impact that the economic recession engendered by the attacks of 11 September will have on employment. It presents a detailed analysis of the employment trends in all sectors of the economy and takes stock of the EU's resilience to macro-economic shocks, its capacity to adapt to change, and the role of confidence for a successful employment index.
In the report, the employment forecasts are reviewed downward. Nonetheless, there is currently reason to hope that the economic recovery expected for mid-2002 will stimulate growth in employment on condition that a confidence crisis does not develop. Europe is currently better able to face up to a recession than ten years ago, stresses a spokesman's press release. Europe is currently raising the challenge of recession, and is not under any circumstances allowing the functioning of European labour markets to deteriorate, by preparing firms and workers for the next upswing. To this end, the action carried out in the field of employment policy must focus on the following points: placing emphasis on vocational training and life-long training to maintain and develop the basic skills of European work forces; - guaranteeing financial aid to those who are out of work, which would be completed by active measures aimed at maintaining and increasing employability; - and conducting preventive action to avoid further increases in the numbers of long term unemployed and persons excluded from the world of work.
The full text of the report is available on: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/employment_social/key_en.htm.