Industrial Relations in Europe 2012 - European Commission - Europa

Chart 2.6: Employment rates of those aged 20-64 in the CEECs, average 2000/2011
Source: Eurostat
Chart 2.7: Unemployment rates in the CEECs, 2007–2011
Source: Eurostat
In addition to the summary of main differences in economic performance between the CEECs
and the EU-15, the CEECs are interesting in terms of analysis because of their large internal
diversity despite facing similar economic challenges over the past two decades. All CEECs
underwent major economic, labour market and social reforms during the 1990s and 2000s, but
different countries adopted different policies to attract FDI, boost economic performance and
address socio-economic questions during the transition from state socialism to a market
economy and democracy (1990s), the post-transition period of development (2000s) and the
period affected by the global economic crisis (after 2008). As a result, in the CEECs we find
some of the best performing economies in the EU, with high GDP growth rates and low
inequality rates (eg Slovenia (although the situation may have changed post-2010) and the
Czech Republic, see Table 2.1 for income inequality coefficients in the EU), but also
countries that experience the highest inequality rates within the EU (eg Latvia, Lithuania and
Romania).
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