Employment News Third Quarter 2013

"There is no room for complacency: too many people are suffering the dire social consequences of the crisis, and we need to step up social investment and support to job creation. A sustainable recovery requires further progress in reforming the Economic and Monetary Union, including paying greater attention to employment and social problems and coordinating employment and social policies more closely.” László Andor, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Employment Statistics Overview  The EU28 unemployment rate* in August 2013 was at 10.9 %, stable compared with July.  In August 2013, there were nearly 26.6 million people unemployed in the EU28.  The Euro area unemployment rate was at 12.0 %.  In both zones, rates have risen since August 2012, when they were 10.6 % and 11.5 % respectively.

Employment Statistics Unemployment Rates Across EU28: August 2013 The lowest unemployment rates were found in Austria (4.9 %), Germany (5.2 %), and Luxembourg (5.8 %) The highest unemployment rates were found in Greece (27.9 %) and Spain (26.2 %).

Employment Statistics Divergence between Member States There are persistent differences between EU Member States, especially within the euro area.  There is now a gap of 23.0 percentage points between the Member State with the lowest rate of unemployment (Austria, 4.9 % in August 2013) and that of the highest (Greece, 27.9 % in August 2013).  Unemployment rates in the South and periphery of the euro area reached an average of 17.3% in 2012, against 7.1 % in the North and core of the euro area.  The average rate of young people neither in employment, education or training (NEETs) reached 22.4 % in the South and periphery, against 11.4% in the North and core.

Employment Statistics The EU unemployment rate shows some recent stabilisation, however has continued to diverge from comparable economies such as US and Japan

Employment Statistics Youth Unemployment (Age 15-24)  In August 2013, 23,3 % or 5.5 million young people were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 3.5 million live in the euro area.  The lowest youth unemployment rates are in Germany (7.7 %) and Austria (8.6%).  The highest rates are in Greece (61.5 %), Spain (56.0 %) and Croatia (52.0%)

Employment Statistics Developments of unemployment rates since 2000 in the EU-28: total, adults (25-74) and young people (15-24), as a percentage of the active population

Employment Statistics Long-term youth unemployment has increased substantially since 2008  The rate of long-term unemployment (unemployed for 12 months and more)* accounted for 7.9 % of active youth in Quarter 4 of  This is more than double to five years ago, while in the same period it went up by roughly 2 percentage points for adults.

Vacancies on the EURES Portal  In the fourth quarter of 2012*, there were 2.0 million job vacancies** (19 countries), 6 % less than the same quarter in Top ten growth occupations

Jobs most in demand in Europe  The top three sectors with the most job offers on the EURES Job Mobility Portal are:  finance and sales professionals,  housekeeping and restaurant services  Shop salespersons.  The most positions were found in Germany for all 5 top jobs in demand across Europe.  Other jobs featuring in the top ten include:  Building finishers and related trades;  Architects and engineers,  Metal moulders, sheet-metal workers and welders,  Physical science technicians, and  Motor vehicle drivers.  There was a significant increase in construction-related occupations in many countries, pointing to a revival of the construction sector. Vacancies on the EURES Portal

Special focus: ICT vacancies  Demand for ICT professionals* continues to grow.  There was a 2 % increase in the number of employees in the ICT sector between 2011 and 2012 in 26 EU Member States  unfilled vacancies for ICT practitioners are expected in the EU by the year  The UK and Germany lead the way seeking ICT specialists, followed by other central and northern European countries, in particular France, Austria, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden.

Geographical mobility of workers  Mobility rates rose particularly strongly from the southern Member States (+73 %).  Intra-EU mobility of workers seems to be increasingly driven by push factors, whereas pull factors dominated before.  Push factors means people are leaving their own countries due to the conditions in their home country,  Pull factors are the benefits that attract people to a particular country.

Geographical mobility of workers  There has been a rebound in intra-EU mobility (+22 % over ),following the sharp decline at the onset of the crisis (-41 % between 2008 and 2010).  There has been a rise in the numbers going to Germany and Austria, driven by the relative availability of jobs compared to other destinations but also the end of transitional arrangements for workers from Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia in  Flows of third country nationals have continued to decline (-9 % over ) after the drop already recorded in (-34 %).

Articles of Interest News articles from ENIB on the Extranet: Extranet Untapped potential of labour mobility Equal treatment for agency workers New job days and events manual online “Your first EURES job”: Moving forward The EURES family just got bigger: Hello Croatia!

Sources European Vacancy Monitor (EVM) European Job Mobility Bulletin (EJMB) Monthly Labour Market Statistics (Eurostat) AP/EN/ AP-EN.PDF Employment and Social Situation Quarterly Review rtherNews=yes