Regional unemployment rates in EU Member States ranging between 1.7% and 29.1%. Eurostat data released today show that wide gaps in the performance of European labour markets persist despite the much-celebrated overall declines in unemployment.
Commenting on the data, ETUC Deputy General Secretary Katja Lehto-Komulainen said: “This data highlights the profound employment challenges that the EU continues to face. Of course we welcome the rises in employment and decreases in unemployment that have been delivered in recent years and now is the time to tackle the entrenched pockets of unemployment that too many in Europe continue to face. Too much unemployment in Europe is long-term and strategies to boost quality employment are weak and uncoordinated. This is why the ETUC is stepping up its demands to fix the roof while the sun is shining. The EU should use the current growth rates to mobilise investment for regions that are struggling to create quality job opportunities and provide the leadership in the context of the forthcoming CSRs so that well-financed active labour market policies that include trade unions in their coordination and evaluation are put in place.”