Governments within the European Union (EU) should do more to ensure they implement labor reforms, it has been claimed.

This is the view expressed by the European Central Bank (ECB) in a new report, which warned that the job losses resulting from the economic downturn could remain permanent unless action is taken to generate employment opportunities.

An article in the body's monthly bulletin explained: "The recent financial crisis and the ensuing recession have taken a heavy toll on euro area labor markets."

In the feature, it noted that job losses have tended to be concentrated in a select number of sectors, such as construction and manufacturing, which could lead to some being permanently smaller.

Temporary employment within the EU is reported as showing "signs of an earlier turnaround" than more permanent positions and part-time work is also continuing to grow.

The number of people out of work in the region's 27 states stabilized during May this year at 9.6 per cent, according to recent data from Eurostat.

Posted by Alex Donnell