SLIGHT INCREASE IN EMPLOYMENT RATES AND WORKING HOURS IN THE EU.

In the second quarter of 2005, 63.7% of the working age population (15-64) in the EU held down a job or other business activity compared with 63.1% a year earlier, representing a 0.6 point increase. These are the findings revealed in Eurostat's latest report on labour market trends published at the end of December. The gender gap is also closing: while the employment rate among men increased by half a percentage point from 70.7% in the second quarter of 2004 to 71.2% in the second quarter of 2005, female employment rose by 0.8% during the same period for women aged between 15 and 64 to reach 56.3%.

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