The European Union’s 2010 employment targets now seem unobtainable, as the downturn grips the EU member states.

Targets set in the Lisbon treaty, signed in 2000, had aimed for an overall  unemployment rate of 4% or less across the union and 70% overall employment rate.

However, several nations have been hit by spiralling job losses, including Spain, which is predicted to have 16% unemployment this year and nearly 19% in 2010. Countries which have traditionally had low unemployment rates, such as Austria, Cyprus, Denmark and the Netherlands, also face unemployment levels of 5-6%.

A report by multi-sector recruiter Randstad and SEO Economic Research said:

“The financial crisis will make it impossible for most of the countries to reach all of the Lisbon targets in 2010 or even shortly thereafter. The current recession leads to a sharp and sudden decrease of labor demand and an increase in unemployment.”

For further analysis of Europe-wide employment trends see the next edition of Recruiter.