(LUXEMBOURG) – The employment rate of the EU population aged 20 to 64 stood at 70.1% in 2015, up compared with 2014 (69.2%), but still slightly below its 2008 peak (70.3%), according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office.
A similar pattern can be observed for men: their employment rate hit 75.9% in 2015, an increase compared with 2014 (75.0%) but still below its 2008 level (77.8%).
As for women, their employment rate has continuously risen since 2010 to reach 64.3% in 2015, above previous peaks of 63.5% in 2014 and 62.8% in 2008.
The Europe 2020 strategy target is to reach a total employment rate for people aged 20 to 64 of at least 75% in the EU by 2020. This objective has been translated into national targets in order to reflect the situation and possibilities of each Member State to contribute to the common goal.
The employment rate of persons aged 55 to 64 in the EU has grown steadily over the last years, from 38.4% in 2002 to 53.3% in 2015. The greater participation of older workers is also one of the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy on employment.
The figures highlight the gender employment gap in the EU, which is at its narrowest in Finland and Lithuania, and at its widest in Malta.
Big gaps were also recorded in Italy (-20.0 pp), Greece (-18.0 pp), Romania (-17.5 pp) and the Czech Republic (-16.6 pp).
Another stand-out figure is that almost 3 people out of 4 aged 55 to 64 in Sweden have a job.
