European Union (EU) member states should focus on getting those without jobs back into work and reforming pension systems, it has been claimed.

The European Commission has outlined its priorities for growth during 2011, which include a series of goals regarding the labor market.

A total of four out of ten targets published by the EU executive related to employment, including balancing the importance of job security versus flexibility and making work more attractive for people.

According to Brussels, the economic governance recommendations are intended to boost growth across the region in the wake of the financial markets crisis, concentrating on macro-economic stability and fiscal consolidation.

Commenting on the plans, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said of the Annual Growth Survey: "If it is fully implemented, I'm confident that Europe can return to strong economic growth and higher employment."

Meanwhile, latest figures from Eurostat showed the EU witnessed a fall in the number of unemployed people in the region of 35,000 between October and November 2010.

Posted by Alex Donnell