Employment and Social Developments in Europe 2013

The 2011 and 2012 editions of the Employment and Social Developments in Europe review analysed this process from many angles and have proven useful in helping policy-makers understand the scale and nature of the problems Europe faces.

ESDE 2013 further develops the European Commission’s analysis of the difficult and increasingly diverse labour market and social conditions in Europe, examining also to what extent employment and social policies have helped to counteract the growing challenges and what policy responses need to intensify or change. It shows, for instance, how allocation between different types of social spending could be improved, as debated already in the context of the 2013 Social Investment Package. It analyses where future jobs are likely to come from and how they might look like given longer-term structural trends shaping the economy. It seeks to identify the right policy mixes for narrowing gender gaps in labour markets, fighting poverty in working age and limiting its negative social consequences, and also for reducing the incidence of undeclared work. It contributes to the ‘beyond GDP’ debate by analysing various proposed metrics of prosperity and social progress, trying in particular to capture the impact of growing income inequalities on the socio-economic reality. Finally, ESDE 2013 offers further analytical backing to the recently launched policy debate on strengthening the social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union by examining the causes of growing economic and social disparities in the euro area and ways in which they can be tackled in order to improve the economic and social performance of Europe as a whole.