Brussels, 19 December 2024
The European Commission has published its 2024 annual review of labour markets and wage developments in Europe, with foreword by Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu.
The report shows that the EU labour market remained strong in 2023, despite economic slowdown, with historically low unemployment and 5.5 million jobs created since 2019. Non-EU nationals, including Ukrainians, and older people between the ages of 55 and 64 years contributed to the bulk of this increase. According to the report, the favourable labour market developments reflect improvements in the matching between job seekers and vacancies.
The report finds that in 2023, real wages started increasing again. Lower-income households were better protected, largely due to significant increases in statutory minimum wages that helped cushion the impact of high inflation on purchasing power of low-wage earners. This also shows the importance of the new EU minimum wage rules that are now in place to strengthen Europe’s social fairness and make our economy more inclusive, regardless of age and gender. The report also shows that opportunities for older workers to stay in employment are increasing. It finds that, by 2030, there will be an additional 8.8 million workers between 55 and 68, partly due to recent pension reforms in EU Member States. While some specific groups of older workers remain underrepresented in the labour market, the report finds they could become part of the active workforce through targeted support.
However, the report warns that low productivity, widespread labour and skills shortages, and an ageing population, could in the long-term undermine the recent positive changes in the labour market and the EU’s long-term competitiveness. These issues have been identified also in yesterday’s autumn package of the European Semester, as risks to the EU’s ability to compete globally and sustain economic growth, job creation and improvements in living standards.