Joint Employment Report 2026

The Joint Employment Report (JER) by the European Commission and the Council monitors the employment situation in the Union and the implementation of the Employment Guidelines, in line with Article 148 of the TFEU. The report provides an annual overview of key employment and social developments in the Union and of Member States’ recent policy measures, in line with the Guidelines for the Employment Policies of the Member States. It also identifies related key priority areas for policy action. 

Chapter 1 of the report presents an overview of key employment and social trends. 

Chapter 2 analyses challenges and policy responses in the Member States for each of the four employment guidelines as well as progress made on the 2030 EU headline and national targets. 

Chapter 3 provides a horizontal overview and country-specific analysis for all EU Member States in line with the principles of the SCF and and Art. 3 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1263. 

Based on the proposal, and following exchanges in the relevant Council advisory committees, the final text was adopted by the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO) Council on 9 March 2026. Addressing the challenges identified in the report will contribute to achieving upward social convergence, strengthen the Union’s drive towards fair green and digital transitions and contribute to facing demographic change, as well as the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the implementation of the Union of Equality Strategies.