The creation of jobs across Europe remains a key economic and social challenge for the EU. Given the negative impact of the financial crisis on  European citizens, the EU’s ability to promote effective job creation policies will be viewed as a major success of the wider integration process.

In this context, a new approach is required to provide a growth-based strategy for creating employment across Europe. What is required is an achievable strategy based on the realities of modern EU labour markets. This research, based on an analysis of six member states, provides a set of recommendations designed to reflect the current characteristics of the EU labour markets. This research concludes that:

• EU employment policies should be simplified and better coordinated;
• Clearly defined action s should be introduced to further improve labour mobility;
• The focus of policymaking should be switched from combating unemployment to creating jobs;
• It is possible to finance the recovery by bridging the gap between investment and reform.