The agency work industry is set to play a leading role in helping achieve the employment goals laid out in the European Union's 2020 Strategy, it has been stated.

With the European Council gearing up to debate the proposed employment goals, which include boosting market access for the young and unemployed and promoting further work mobility, Eurociett (the European Confederation of Private Employment Agencies) has pointed to the leading role the agency work sector will play in getting members states back on track.

Specifically, the group has cited research which shows four in five jobs carried out through agency work would not otherwise have been created, while also stating that the agency work sector is a leading provider of vocational training within Europe.

Eurociett managing director Denis Pennel added: "As the most secure form of flexible work, agency work provides a stepping stone to the labor market - especially for young and inexperienced workers, increases labor market participation, contributes to the implementation of active labor market policies and enhances skills and work mobility."

Meanwhile, the latest EC Monthly Labor Market Monitor has revealed that rises in unemployment within member states are now at their lowest levels since mid-2008.