Unemployment: Commissioner Andor calls on Member States to step up "jobs effort"

Following publication of the latest Eurostat figures on unemployment in the EU in July 2013 László Andor, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion made the following comments:

"GDP growth turned positive in the 2nd quarter and latest unemployment figures confirm that joblessness has stopped rising in many countries, even in Spain, Portugal and Ireland."

"After six quarters of recession and ten quarters of rising unemployment, this levelling off in unemployment is relatively good news."

"It is encouraging that many countries have managed to slightly reduce seasonally-adjusted unemployment without a time lag after economic growth picked up or even while still in recession. The slight decline in unemployment in these countries shows the importance of active employment policy measures like hiring subsidies, reduced taxes on low-paid labour, re-skilling and good-quality job placement services."

European Commission - MEMO