Implementing the European employment strategy

European Commission Directorate-General For Employment Social Affairs And Inclusion

Description

The challenges of integrating young people into the labour market, long-term unemployment and equal opportunities
Employment policy

Informations

• Publié par: EUROPEAN-COMMISSION-DIRECTORATE-GENERAL-FOR-EMPLOYMENT_SOCIAL-AFFAIRS-AND-INCLUS
• Nombre de lectures: 9
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

Implementing the European
employment strategy
The challenges of integrating young people
into the labour market long-term unemployment
and equal opportunities
Employment Sc social affairs
European Commission Implementing the European
employment strategy
The challenges of integrating young people
into the labour market, long-term unemployment
and equal opportunities
Employment $* social affairs t and European Social Fund
European Commission
Directorate-General for Employment, Industrial Relations
and Social Affairs
Unit V/A.3
Manuscript completed in March 1999 The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of the European
Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs.
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Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1999
ISBN 92-828-6827-3
© European Communities, 1999
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Printed in Belgium
PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER Foreword
The seriousness of the unemployment problem in the European Union is related not only to the
average overall level oft (around 10,7%), but more specifically to its
disproportionate impact on young people and on women, as well as to the high percentage of
long-term unemployment (50% on average).
These aspects - coupled with the gender discrimination that subsists in terms of participation
rates and of access to the labour market, to the detriment of women - lead to unacceptable social
consequences and the risk of social exclusion.
This situation was recognised by the Essen employment strategy. In December 1994, the
European Council declared the fight against unemployment and for equality of opportunity for
women and men as the paramount tasks of the European Union and its Member States. One of
the five key areas of intervention identified in Essen was the improvement of measures in favour
of groups particularly hard-hit by unemployment, including young people, the long-term
unemployed and women.
In their 1995 "Joint Report on Employment", the Council and the Commission agreed that efforts
should be intensified regarding action in favour of groups particularly hard hit by unemployment.
More specifically, they established the following three structural goals:
• "AU young people should be provided with the level of education, training and work
experience needed to make them employable"
• In the context of a more active policy for the prevention of long-term unemployment "all
unemployed people should have the opportunity of retraining or reintegration before
reaching the point of long-term unemployment."
• "Through the promotion of equal opportunities in the context of all public policies
affecting employment, an active policy of desegregation of the labour market using a
renewed approach to part-time working as a transitional measure, and the reconciliation of
family and working life for women and men."
In order to support Member States' efforts towards these goals, and notably to facilitate
exchanges of information and good practice between them, the Commission services have
prepared the enclosed background reports.
These reports have been discussed with both governmental and independent experts from all
Member States and amended to take their views into account.
They are now published for the information of all those interested in these key aspects of the
European employment strategy.
The reports will also underpin the new approach to the European employment strategy called for
by the Amsterdam Treaty of June 1997, and launched at the special Employment Summit in
Luxembourg in November 1997. The 1998 Guidelines for Member States' employment policy,
agreed at the Summit, provide for a further strengthening of efforts in favour of youth integration
on the labour market, of the fight against long-term unemployment and of the promotion of equal
opportunities. The first three guidelines call for the strengthening of preventive strategies and activation
towards the unemployed. Member States are asked to offer all unemployed a "new start " in the
form of training, re-training, work practice, a job or any measure improving their employability
before the unemployment period has reached six months for young people and twelve months for
adults. Member States should also increase the number of unemployed benefiting from active
measures and progressively achieve the common target of 20% unemployed being offered a
training or measures improving their employability. The Guidelines also ask Member States to
improve the transition from school to work by reducing the number of early school drop-outs
and by improving young people's preparation to working life.
The 1998 Employment Guidelines also encourage Member States to tackle gender gaps, allow
women and men to better reconcile work and family life and to facilitate their return to work after
a period of absence. Gender gaps in unemployment rates should be tackled by actively
supporting the increased employment of women and the gender segregation of the labour market
should be fought against.
Within this context, it is appropriate to develop appropriate indicators to assess employment
performance and policy. To launch the discussion on this subject at European level, the
Commission presented the Employment and Labour Market Committee with comparative
analyses of national performance regarding youth integration into the labour market, long-term
unemployment and equal opportunities policy. Based on a benchmarking approach, these reports
also try to highlight the explanatory factors behind differences in performance between Member
States. They are discussion documents which serve as a basis for further analysis and research.
Both documents can help policy makers, researchers and all those involved in equal opportunities
policy in their reflection and action on the issue of reinforcing equal opportunities for women and
men in the labour market. Table of contents
I. Integration of young people into the labour market 7
Comparative analysis of national performance on integrating young
people into the labour market 41
II. Attacking long-term unemployment
- analysis and policies 83
Benchmarking policies for the prevention and reduction
of long-term unemployment 119
III. The promotion of equal opportunities for women
and men and the reduction of women's unemployment 13
Benchmarking equal opportunities policy 16INTEGRATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE
INTO THE LABOUR MARKET