The tragic events occurring in Ukraine are dramatically changing the political, economic and social outlook in Europe. This March 2022 edition of the Employment and Social Developments Quarterly Review discusses data collected before the unjustified invasion of Ukraine by Russia on 24 February 2022. While it is too soon to evaluate the socio-economic consequences of this war, this report will briefly hint at potential developments when reviewing the outlook of some indicators.

The data collected until the end of 2021 show that the improvement in the economic environment that started in spring 2021 continued throughout the year, although with weaker growth in the fourth quarter due to the resurgence last autumn of the COVID-19 pandemic and continued supply bottlenecks. Although weaker, economic growth was accompanied by a robust increase in headcount employment and by a steady fall of the unemployment rate, with both indicators improving compared with their pre-crisis record levels. Labour shortages continued to increase and the labour market slack dropped considerably.

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Statistical annex I

Statistical annex II

Recurrent analysis - latest update (Excel)

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