The EESC opinion by Rapporteur Mariya Mincheva responds to the European Commission’s proposal for the 2025 Employment Guidelines, a cornerstone of the European Semester and the EU’s social and economic strategy. The Committee welcomes the reconduction of the guidelines and the new elements introduced this year, which reflect the evolving challenges facing Europe’s labour markets, from demographic shifts and technological change to geopolitical tensions and the green and digital transitions.
Clear targets and persistent challenges
The EESC highlights the importance of the 2030 national targets set in the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) Action Plan, which enable proper monitoring and assessment of progress. Despite robust employment growth between 2023 and 2025, and the EU remaining on course to meet its headline employment rate target by 2030, employment growth was more pronounced in sectors facing high labour shortages.
However, inactivity rates remain high among underrepresented groups:
- In 2024, the employment rate of persons with disabilities stood at 51.8%, which is 24 percentage points lower than the overall employment rate of 75.8%.
- The employment rate for women was 70.8% compared to 80.8% for men in 2024.
- The youth unemployment rate (ages 15–24) stood at 14.6% in 2022 and 2023, rising slightly to 14.9% in 2024.
Boosting productivity and investing in skills
Persistently low labour productivity is a concern: productivity growth averaged 1.4% before 2007, fell to 0.8% in 2010–2019, and further declined to 0.7% in 2023. The EESC urges Member States to prioritise investment in digitalisation, new technologies, research and innovation, and the upskilling and reskilling of workers.
Self-employment has declined: 10.5% in 2024 compared to 11.7% in 2022. The EESC stresses support for genuine and voluntarily chosen self-employment, as well as greater emphasis on entrepreneurship skills and financial literacy.
Most Member States continue to fall short of their 2030 national targets for adult learning. The adult learning participation rate increased from 37.4% in 2016 to 39.5% in 2022, but this still lags behind the ambition.
Inclusive labour markets and equal opportunities
Skills and labour shortages are particularly persistent in healthcare, STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), notably ICT (Information and Communication Technology) construction, transport, and certain service-based occupations (e.g., cooks and waiters). Labour shortages in the manufacturing sector are particularly high and continued to grow in some countries.
Despite progress, women, youth, older people, those with low to medium qualifications, persons with disabilities, and migrants remain underrepresented in the labour market. The EESC calls for targeted measures to support these groups, especially in rural and sparsely populated areas, and for the expansion of community lifelong learning centres.
Fighting poverty and supporting social inclusion
Despite recent crises, poverty has declined: in 2023, the number of those experiencing poverty or social exclusion risks had decreased by 703,000 compared to 2022, and by 1,571,000 relative to the base year 2019. However, progress towards national targets to reduce poverty varies significantly among Member States, and child poverty remains alarmingly high.
In-work poverty is higher among certain groups:
- 22.5% among non-EU citizens
- 18.5% among those born outside the EU
- 18.4% among low-educated workers
- 12.6% among part-time employees
- 12.6% among temporary workers
- 10.0% among households with dependent children
The EESC reiterates the crucial role of social partners and civil society organisations in shaping and implementing labour market reforms, wage-setting mechanisms, and social inclusion policies. Meaningful involvement of these actors is essential for effective, inclusive, and sustainable change.
A call for ambition and solidarity
The EESC’s opinion concludes with a call for Member States to use the Employment Guidelines as a springboard for ambitious, coordinated action—balancing fiscal discipline with necessary investments in social policy, skills, and innovation. Cohesion policy, the Committee insists, must remain at the heart of the EU agenda, even as new challenges emerge in security and defence.
