The active labour force in the European Union will be 20 million short of the levels required to sustain growth and pay for an ageing population by 2030, the EU has warned.
This is despite substantial inflows of migrant workers.
Vladimir Spidla, employment and social affairs commissioner, said there would be almost 40 million more EU citizens in their 80s or older. This alone would require 80 million new jobs to help pay for their pensions and healthcare, reports the Guardian.
Faced with a dramatic fall in labour productivity growth, widening the 20% gap with the US, Spidla will today outline a series of measures to increase employment, especially among young people, promote social cohesion, lift 68 million citizens out of poverty and prepare for an ageing population.
Spidla said he favoured greater flexibility in labour markets, pointing to the success of the Government’s new deal in reducing youth unemployment.
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“Non-regulated societies are jungle societies. For flexibility we also need regulation; good regulation, not over-regulation. My strategy, for instance, is to keep people in work through retraining and other measures, not protect jobs at all costs,” he said.
