Results from the European labour force survey show that certain population subgroups have been affected much more than others by employment contraction during the recent recession (Chart 48 and Table 5).
Comparing employment rates with those a year earlier indicates that the pace of decline from late 2008 through to mid-2009 was much stronger for men than for women. Year-on-year employment rate changes for men had already turned negative in the final quarter of 2008 and then accelerated with sharp declines over the first half of 2009, leading to the male employment rate being down by more than 2 percentage points on a year earlier by the middle of the year. Declines only started for women in the first quarter of 2009 and have been much less dramatic, with the year-on-year fall in the rate reaching a maximum of only 0.8 percentage points in the third quarter of 2009. However, a strong easing in the declines for men over the first half of 2010 led to year-on-year falls being broadly similar for both sexes by the second quarter of 2010. Nevertheless, it still remains the case that men have suffered much more from employment contraction than women, as the cumulative reduction in the employment rate compared to 2008q2 amounted to 2.7 percentage points for men and 0.7 percentage points for women by the second quarter of 2010.
The strong fall in male employment rates reflects a strong underlying decline in the rates for prime working age (25-54 years) men, and especially young (15-24 years) men, which amounted to 3.1 percentage points and 4.2 percentage points respectively by 2010q2 compared to 2008q2. Their rates declined rapidly from late 2008 through to the third quarter of 2009, when the year-on-year decline peaked at around 2.5 and 3.5 percentage points respectively, before easing off sharply by mid-2010. Although relatively more limited, young women have also seen substantial declines in their employment rate, with year-on year falls peaking at around 2 percentage points and remaining fairly strong into the first half of 2010. As a result the total decline in their employment rate compared to 2008q2 amounted to 2.6 percentage points. In contrast, employment rate declines have been relatively subdued for prime age women and older men (55-64 years), for whom rates started to fall later and with year-on-year declines amounting to well below a percentage point, while rates for older women have actually continued to rise over the whole period since the crisis began, bucking the trend for all other groups.
In terms of nationality, non-EU nationals have experienced the sharpest falls in employment rates. Declines have also been more significant for nationals of other EU countries (i.e. EU citizens whose nationality is different from the Member State in which they reside) when compared to the falls for nationals, although their year-on-year rate declines broadly stabilised in 2009 from the second quarter on, while those for non-EU nationals continued to worsen through to the third quarter. However, declines for both have subsequently eased over late 2009 and the first half of 2010. Nevertheless, by the second quarter of 2010, the employment rate for non-EU nationals was down a cumulative 4.5 percentage points on the rate in the second quarter of 2008, that for other EU-nationals down 2.1 percentage points, and that for nationals down a more limited 1.6 percentage points.
In terms of skills, population groups of all skill levels have seen employment rates decline. Year-on-year rate falls accelerated for all skill groups through to the third quarter of 2009, before easing off subsequently, but with the declines being greatest for the low-skilled and weakest for the high-skilled. Compared to rates in the second quarter of 2008, the largest cumulative fall through to 2010q2 has been for the low-skilled (down 3.0 percentage points), but even the high-skilled have seen rates fall substantially (by some 1.4 percentage points), although the latter reflects the fact that the increase in the number of high skilled has been even faster than the increase in their employment (the underlying population of the high-skilled aged 15-64 increased by 5.1 million (or 7.4%) over the two year period, while employment of the high-skilled in this age group increased by a more limited 3.3 million (or 5.7%)).