Statistics in Focus: Population and social conditions. Employment rates in Europe - 2000. 2001.8

Abstract

On its Stockholm summit in March 2001, the European Council set the following objectives for EU's employment rates : 67 % for women and men together and 57 % for women to be attained by 2005. 50 % by the year 2010 for persons aged 55 to 64 years. The employment rates derived from the spring 2000 Labour Force Survey are presented hereafter for the EU Member States (and their regions), as well as for 3 EFTA and 11 candidate countries. The main features are : • In average the EU total employment rate was at 63.1 % in 2000 (against 61 % in 1998), while the female employment rate was almost 10 percentage points lower (at 53.8 % in 2000 against 51.2 % in 1998). • Seven EU member states have already attained the 2005 objectives : Denmark, United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands (with total rates around 70 % or more and female rates around 65 %), as well as Portugal and Austria (with total rates at 68 % and female rates at 60 %). • Germany has already reached the 2005 objective for female employment but not for total employment rate (65.3 %). • In Italy, Greece and Spain the employment rates are as low as around 40 % for females and 55 % for males and females together.