In the wake of the global economic downturn, European Union (EU) member states are now facing the challenge of boosting employment.

This is according to an article by EurActiv, which points to the need to get people back into work in the region in order to reach EU goals

A target has been set by the European Commission to increase the employment rate to 75 per cent by 2020.

The news source asserts that the labor market has been substantially affected by the financial markets crisis, which has left more than 23 million individuals without jobs and struggling to secure jobs.

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso has unveiled measures aimed at filling vacancies and skills gaps in the region and job creation reforms are being implemented in many nations, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia in central Europe.

Euractiv recently reported that Hungary has plans to create one million new positions by 2020, which would increase the national employment rate to 70 per cent, in line with the 75 per cent headline target set in the EU's strategy for the next ten years.

Posted by Alex Donnell