EU urges post-virus jobs boost for youth, low-skilled

BRUSSELS: The EU executive urged member states on Thursday to do everything they could to boost employment, as the pandemic appears to devastate prospects for the young and the low-skilled.

Europe has suffered its worst recession since World War II due to the coronavirus outbreak and EU leaders will meet in Portugal's city of Porto in May to find ways to ease the consequences on their most vulnerable citizens.

The European Commission is asking leaders at the summit to agree to meet specific, yet non-binding, targets by 2030 on employment, training and getting more people out of poverty.

"It is essential to give a very strong political signal to all Europeans that the EU is concerned for their livelihoods, their jobs, and their well-being," EU employment commissioner Nicolas Schmit told reporters.

Helping workers through tough times is an additional focus for the EU, which previous to the pandemic concentrated more on ensuring that governments balance budgets and spend wisely.

EU governments now worry that a failure to swiftly fix the economy for all levels of income could stoke voter anger and cause lasting damage.

The EU is also worried that many workers, including the young, will be left behind as new technologies and demographic changes disadvantage the less skilled.

In its proposals, the commission asked member states to commit to achieving a 78-percent employment rate by 2030.

European employment currently sits at around 72 percent EU-wide, with big discrepencies among member states.

The EU executive also asked member states to back professional training for 60 percent of adults every year.

Finally, in an EU population of about 450 million people, the commission asked that governments promise to lift 15 million people out of poverty by 2030.