Proposal for a 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 and provides the first-stage analysis of the Social Convergence Framework.

Summary

• 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. It also monitors progress made on the 2030 EU headline and national targets in ‘target boxes’ and focusses on selected topics in dedicated ‘Pillar boxes’.
   
• Chapter 3 provides the first-stage country-specific analysis of the Social Convergence Framework for all Member States.

Background

Based on the proposal, and following exchanges in the relevant Council advisory committees, the final text is to be adopted by the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO) Council in 2026.