Currently, across all sectors of the European economy, there is a consensus: additional labor is needed, as the shortfall in resource extraction and manufacturing alone amounts to 50,000 to 100,000 people. There is also a significant shortage in sectors such as new technologies and healthcare, but employment problems exist in agriculture, public utilities, construction, and heavy industry as well.
The problem of high unemployment remains one of the most pressing and painful for the EU. The situation became particularly complicated at the turn of the 2000s, when a wave of economic crisis swept the world. Employment issues directly depend on the overall state of the economy: the faster a country or region develops, the more opportunities there are to create jobs, and vice versa. Unfortunately, growth rates in the European Union are steadily declining, having already fallen to 0.8%. Against this background, employment growth looks even gloomier: it has virtually stalled at the 2002 level, amounting to only about 0.2%. At the same time, the unemployment rate rose last year from 8.8% to 9.1% of the working-age population, and this trend appears likely to continue in the coming years.
The average employment rate in the EU has not exceeded 63% for many years, despite some improvement among women and older people. Nevertheless, the goals set in Lisbon to achieve 70% employment remain unattainable. The employment rate for older workers is particularly far from the target: 40% against the planned 50%.
• The same situation is typical for Asian countries, for example, Uzbekistan. Even when employers have vacancies, many are interested in work in Tashkent - resume search, which will also offer other options. So those wishing to find employment can always find a more or less suitable option.
It should be noted that the labor market in Europe has its own specific features. In particular, according to some studies, the labor market in the region is characterized by a high degree of staff turnover. This is largely explained by the large share of temporary employment contracts. More and more employers are hiring workers to perform specific tasks, preferring this scheme to traditional hiring for permanent employment. This allows employers to avoid many social obligations. For workers, such conditions are attractive because they are not tied to any company and work only when they feel it is necessary.
This has led to the creation of a kind of 'two-tier' labor market, in which 'insiders' enjoy all the advantages associated with social guarantees, career opportunities, and wage increases, while 'outsiders' are bound by rigid contract frameworks. In this regard, special attention is now being paid to creating the most equal opportunities and a level of social security for everyone. Moreover, only one in three initially hired on a temporary basis gets a permanent position after the first year of work. It is also interesting to note that over the past six years, of the total number of people in temporary employment, 16% are still in this situation, and 20% have joined the army of the unemployed.
Another problem remains the fairly large number of low-paid workers - about 15%, especially noticeable in Germany and the Netherlands. According to studies, only 44% of low-paid workers significantly improve their financial situation, and then on average after seven years. At the same time, 30% of low-paid workers simply become unemployed after seven years, with the probability of losing their jobs for such people being 13% higher than for other categories.
Moreover, the problem is that although unemployment in the EU remains steadily at 10-11%, the internal labor resources of the member countries are extremely immobile and prefer to remain unemployed in their own country rather than take a place in another state. Overall, the presence of EU citizens in other countries of the Union does not exceed 1.5%. Thus, although the European Union has its own resources to fill the vacuum in the labor market, the immobility of its own labor resources leads to immigrants taking their place.
It should be emphasized that, as a rule, immigrants occupy the least prestigious positions, with low wages and a low level of social guarantees. This, of course, prevents fierce competition between local and foreign workers in many sectors of the economy, since EU citizens are more demanding than newcomers from third countries.
It is relatively easy to find work in Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Finland. At the same time, in Austria, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the UK, people choose quite freely between permanent and temporary employment. Belgium, Finland, and Portugal provide more opportunities for moving from a low-paid to a high-paid sphere.
It is quite difficult to find work in Belgium, Greece, Italy, and Luxembourg. In addition, citizens living in Germany and Spain most often remain unemployed. In France, Greece, Finland, and Spain, a stable proportion between temporary and permanent workers has persisted for many years, and the transition from one category to another is extremely rare. In Germany and the UK, it is difficult to escape from the low-paid category.
Traditionally, women, young people, and representatives of low-skilled labor are the most vulnerable from the standpoint of employment. All else being equal, they have virtually no chance of improving their situation, but they have a much greater chance of losing their jobs altogether.
In conclusion of the analysis of the situation on the European labor market, it is interesting to see how the ongoing process of globalization and the latest EU enlargement have affected it. Previous enlargements had practically no impact on the labor market. Moreover, they hardly increased migration flows. This time, overall, the situation is developing along the same scenario. The dissatisfaction of many 'old' EU members is caused primarily by the fact that border areas with Central and Eastern European countries, as well as certain sensitive industries, felt the presence of foreign workers more than during previous enlargements. However, overall, the effect of the enlargement is expected to be as insignificant as before. A much greater influence on the labor market could be exerted by the restructuring of the economy towards more high-tech production of goods and services.
The EU leadership is well aware of the importance of employment issues for economic development and a decent life for citizens. Therefore, starting with the Lisbon Strategy, several important decisions have been made to rectify the situation in this area. In particular, the Social Agenda (Social Ageda), the Employment Strategies for 2003-2004 (Employmet Strategies, Employmet Guidelies), and many other documents directly or indirectly regulating this sphere. Three complementary goals were formulated: full employment, improving the quality and productivity of work, and social cohesion. The documents also incorporated the provisions of the Lisbon and Stockholm decisions (2000-2001), setting threshold employment rates; according to these criteria, by 2010 employment should be at least 70%, including 60% among women and 50% among older people.
In the spring of 2004, the European Council identified four areas in which member countries were to develop their employment programs: creating opportunities for workers and enterprises to adapt to new conditions, investing more effectively in 'human capital', making job placement easier, and carefully monitoring and controlling the implementation of employment decisions. In addition, specific recommendations are provided for each country. Particular hopes are placed on the development of the services sector. It is expected that the development of the internal market for services and integration in this area will lead to an increase in demand for labor resources. The main attention is paid to creating well-paid jobs in business services, education, healthcare, and the social system. Along with the above, targeted work is being carried out to redirect consumer demand towards these services.
In 2004, the European Commission conducted a study on the state of the labor market (Employmet i Europe: 2004 Recet Treds ad Prospects). According to this document, within the framework of active labor market policy, the greatest effectiveness was demonstrated by spending on job creation in the services sector and on solving youth problems. At the same time, spending directly on job creation and training was less effective. Interestingly, the difference in taxes, which is traditionally considered one of the most significant factors in the labor market, does not have any noticeable impact in Europe. In particular, from 1997 to 2000, the difference in tax burden decreased by a whole percentage point, but employment and unemployment indicators remained at the same level. At the same time, the package of social guarantees provided by employers is becoming particularly important.
Today, great attention is paid to employment issues. The main document coordinating work in this area is the Itegrated Guidelies For Growth Ad Jobs (2005-2008). The uniqueness of the approach, which seems very correct, lies in the fact that the problem is considered comprehensively, and its solution is seen as possible only through a combination of macroeconomic, microeconomic policy measures and direct measures to create new jobs.
Without examining the first two areas in detail, we will study only the measures aimed at regulating the employment sphere directly. The EU Commission identified eight main areas in this field:
1. Implementing policies aimed at achieving full employment, improving the quality and productivity of work at both supranational and national levels.
2. Fostering an attitude towards work in which a person regards work as an integral part of their life.
3. Creating labor markets open to all job seekers.
4. Ensuring a balance between supply and demand in the labor market.
5. Achieving market flexibility combined with employment security by reducing labor market segmentation.
6. Promoting the formation of a more rational system of remuneration and social guarantees that incentivize workers.
7. Comprehensive encouragement of investments in 'human capital'.
8. Aligning educational programs with changing requirements for personnel qualifications.
Thus, the main goal of the employment policy being created in the EU can confidently be called the creation of a coordinated strategy to ensure, if possible, fuller employment. It is expected that such a strategy will be effective primarily if it focuses on a high level of education, qualifications, and the ability of the workforce to adapt quickly. As for the labor market, the main factor in its development is the increase in labor productivity and employment levels. Four priority tasks are identified here: the ability of workers and companies to adapt to changing conditions; attracting more people to the labor market on a permanent basis; increasing the efficiency of investments in human capital and education; and improving governance in the implementation of reforms.
The European Union's ability to simultaneously achieve employment growth and productivity depends entirely on the progress of structural reforms, not only in the labor market, but also in the production of goods, services, and finance. However, low domestic demand remains the main constraining factor in this area.
Unfortunately, despite the increased attention paid to this issue, the situation has not improved over the first five years of the allotted period. It is becoming clear that achieving the set goals will not be easy. Further reforms will be needed in this area.
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