Individuals of all ages should be able to access quality paid positions and have good working conditions within the European Union (EU), it has been declared.

According to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), this should be a key priority of future efforts in the region in order to address challenges such as an ageing workforce and high levels of youth unemployment.

In a report on a plenary session of the body, it stated: "The EU should strive to enhance job prospects and working conditions across the whole population to counter many of the difficulties we are currently experiencing."

A pair of opinions were put forward regarding the EU labor market at the meeting, with one relating to the full utilization of the potential workforce and the other focused on supporting the creation of new paid roles, in particular through social and civil dialogue.

Recent data from Eurostat placed the EU unemployment rate at 9.3 per cent in May 2011, the same level recorded for April this year and down from 9.7 per cent for the same month of 2010.

Posted by Alex Donnell