Joint Employment Report 2020 (8 April 2020)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Council of the European Union Brussels, 9 April 2020 (OR. en) 7267/20 SOC 203 EMPL 161 ECOFIN 227 EDUC 120 OUTCOME OF PROCEEDINGS From: General Secretariat of the Council To: Delegations No. prev. doc.: 6810/20 Subject: Joint Employment Report 2020 (8 April 2020) Delegations will find in the annex the Joint Employment Report 2020, adopted by written procedure on 8 April 2020. _________________ 7267/20 MB/mk 1 LIFE.4 EN TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................. 2 KEY MESSAGES...................................................................................................................... 3 1. OVERVIEW OF LABOUR MARKET AND SOCIAL TRENDS AND CHALLENGES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION ...................................................................................................... 18 1.1 Labour market trends................................................................................................. 18 1.2 Social trends .............................................................................................................. 29 2. SNAPSHOTS FROM THE SOCIAL SCOREBOARD ................................................... 33 2.1. The scoreboard explained .......................................................................................... 34 2.2. Evidence from the social scoreboard......................................................................... 37 3. EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL REFORMS – MEMBER STATES PERFORMANCE AND ACTION ......................................................................................................................... 44 3.1. Guideline 5: Boosting demand for labour ................................................................. 44 3.1.1 Key indicators .................................................................................................... 45 3.1.2 Policy response .................................................................................................. 63 Guideline 6: Enhancing labour supply and improving access to employment, skills and competences ......................................................................................................................... 68 3.2.1 Key indicators .................................................................................................... 69 3.2.2 Policy response ................................................................................................ 110 Guideline 7: Enhancing the functioning of labour markets and the effectiveness of social dialogue .............................................................................................................................. 136 3.3.1 Key indicators .................................................................................................. 137 3.3.2 Policy response ................................................................................................ 171 Guideline 8: Promoting equal opportunities for all, fostering social inclusion and combatting poverty ............................................................................................................. 183 3.4.1 Key indicators .................................................................................................. 184 3.4.2 Policy response ................................................................................................ 213 ANNEXES 220 7267/20 MB/mk 2 LIFE.4 EN FOREWORD The Joint Employment Report (JER) by the European Commission and the Council is mandated by Article 148 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The initial proposal for this report by the European Commission is part of the Autumn package, which includes the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy launching the European Semester cycle. The Joint Employment Report provides an annual overview of key employment and social developments in Europe as well as Member States' reform actions, in line with the Guidelines for the Employment Policies of the Member States1. The reporting on these reforms follows the structure of the Guidelines: boosting demand for labour (Guideline 5), enhancing labour supply and improving access to employment, skills and competences (Guideline 6), enhancing the functioning of labour markets and the effectiveness of social dialogue (Guideline 7), and promoting equal opportunities for all, fostering social inclusion and combatting poverty (Guideline 8). In addition, the Joint Employment Report monitors Member States' performance in relation to the Social Scoreboard set up in the context of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The Pillar was proclaimed jointly by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on 17 November 2017. It identifies principles and rights in three areas: i) equal opportunities and access to the labour market, ii) fair working conditions, and iii) social protection and inclusion. Monitoring of progress in these areas is underpinned by a detailed analysis of the Social Scoreboard accompanying the Pillar. The Joint Employment Report is structured as follows: an introductory chapter (Chapter 1) reports on main labour market and social trends in the European Union, to set the scene. Chapter 2 presents the main results from the analysis of the social scoreboard associated with the European Pillar of Social Rights. Chapter 3 provides a detailed cross-country description of key indicators (including from the social scoreboard) and policies implemented by Member States to address the Guidelines for Employment Policies. 1 The last update of the Employment Guidelines was adopted by the Council of the European Union in July 2018, aligning the guidelines to the European Pillar of Social Rights (Council Decision (EU) 2018/1215 of 16 July 2018 on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States). 7267/20 MB/mk 3 LIFE.4 EN KEY MESSAGES Europe is making progress in delivering on the European Pillar of Social Rights. According to the Social Scoreboard accompanying the Pillar, labour market and social trends in the EU continue to be positive for 9 out of the 14 headline indicators. The other 5 either remained stable or recorded, on average, a slight negative development compared to the previous year (i.e. early leavers from education or training, gender employment gap, impact of social transfers on poverty reduction, income quintile share ratio and self-reported unmet needs for medical care). Convergence across Member States was observed, to a different extent, for more than half of the headline indicators. All Member States, with the exception of Ireland and the Netherlands, have at least one of the indicators significantly below average (or with an important negative trend). The Social Scoreboard points to positive labour market and social trends in the EU, but challenges remain 9 out of 14 headline Assessment of Social Scoreboard’s headline indicators, January 2020 indicators improved on average in the last year 14 Member States have at least one “critical situation”, same number as in JER 2019 Net earnings of a single worker earning the average wage is the indicator with most challenges Source: Commission services on Eurostat and OECD data Eurostat OECD on and Source: services Commission 7267/20 MB/mk 4 LIFE.4 EN Employment continued to increase, though at a slower pace than in past years. In the third quarter of 2019, 241.5 million of people were in employment in the EU, the highest level ever reached. Older and high-skilled workers continued to be the main drivers of employment growth. Due to the economic slowdown, employment growth is expected to be more muted in the next quarters. Therefore, the employment rate of people aged 20-64 is currently projected to approach the 75% Europe 2020 target in 2020, but remain slightly below it. Labour market performance is the best ever recorded Employment and unemployment rates in the EU and euro area 241.5 million employed people in the third quarter of 2019 + 17 million additional people in employment compared to the lowest point in mid-2013 (+ 2 million compared to 2018-Q3) 73.8% employment rate in the third quarter of 2019 *average of Q1, Q2 and Q3, seasonally adjusted. Source: Eurostat, LFS. LFSSource: Eurostat, 7267/20 MB/mk 5 LIFE.4 EN Unemployment reached a record low at 6.3% in the third quarter of 2019. Convergence across Member States towards lower levels continues. Youth and long-term unemployment are declining too, though they are still high in some Member States. Labour shortages are mostly visible in Member States where unemployment is low, though the share of companies reporting labour shortages is starting to decrease, due to the economic slowdown. Labour shortages are reported where unemployment is low 15.6 million unemployed people Share of firms indicating the availability of labour as a factor limiting production (left) and unemployment rate (right) - 2018 in Q3-2019 (-11 million since the peak in 2013) 6.3% unemployment rate in Q3-2019 2.5% long-term unemployment rate (> 12 months) 14.4% Youth unemployment rate in Q3-2019 and Survey. Consumer Business and LFS Source: Eurostat, LMWD 2019). (see sectors all indicator The includes composite 7267/20 MB/mk 6 LIFE.4 EN The number of people who are at risk of poverty or social exclusion continued to steadily decline for a sixth consecutive year in 2018. In that year alone, around 2.7 million fewer people were at risk of poverty or social exclusion than in the previous year. In particular, severe material