Eu - USA

The world has changed. There are big demographic shifts, globalisation, new technologies and changes in the nature of work. New economic and social models are needed but the welfare state should not be abolished. In America little money is spent on social services such as unemployment maternity and pensions benefits or on state-sponsored health care and education.

In Europe high benefits paid to the jobless discourage. This is no incentive for the unemployed to find a job. So the working age population decrease whereas and the number of people who retire increases. The result: governments have to finance more and more welfare services with less money.

Consequences are that the welfare budget will have to be cut, the active labour market will have to grow, more people will have to work even longer, unemployment benefits will depend on the people's willingness to accept training programmes and work. Collaboration among employers, the unemployed and governments is important.

At the moment the situation is like this: you either have low unemployment, low wages, widening gulfs between rich and poor as in the USA and high unemployment, high wages and a more even income distribution as in the E. U.

But there should be a way to make the market fairer and the welfare system more efficient.

They should not be financed by tax money but by extra contributions which depend on the income. People with low wages would have to pay less. The important thing is people spend their own money and have more decision making power over which services to consume.

The days of high growth, excessive welfare benefits and jobs for life may be over but the now ways should not lead to economic brutalities and social demolition.

In Western Europe 20 million people cannot find jobs. The statistics show that at the moment the rate of unemployment is about 11 %. These figures are a catastrophe, especially when you are familiar with social net. The united States are also affected by this problem. The rate of unemployment is about seven per cent that shows that in Europe the rate is higher but you must not forget that the American social system is totally different from our social net. So many Americans have tried their luck in part time or temporary jobs that do not offer them health and pension benefits.

Austria is a social welfare state and also affected by this problem, just like the rest of Western Europe. But in Austria the rate of idle workers is one of the lowest in Europe.

Join the Teleworkers

Working from home used to mean either sticking labels on envelopes, knitting, weaving or keeping the books for a small business. It's all rather simple jobs but things have changed. Today the homeworker is a teleworker, using technology, such as computers, fax machines, telephones and other office equipment.

An employee can call the office by fax messages or transfer reports through the Internet.

Pros:

Working at home saves you commuting time, money for public means of transport, money for smart outfits for the office.

You can organise your day to suit yourself, you are more relaxed and efficient and you are more productive.

Cons:

Being at home means that you are often distracted, tempted to switch on the TV, stay in bed or work in the garden.

Others find it very lonely and boring, miss the companionships of an office. If there is no going home time there is a danger of working to hard. Some teleworkers cannot draw the line between business and pleasure. Others are afraid that they miss out on promotion and especially women are fearful that their careers are not taken seriously if they work from home.

What many employees miss most: there is no real communication, exchange of ideas and no teamwork.

Young, black and jobless (USA)

For young black youth it is very difficult to find a job, because of that the unemployment rate among blacks is higher than among whites. If they get jobs at all, these jobs are poorly paid. Often the youngsters work in fast food restaurantes or in government subsidised services. The young blacks have to clean up neighborhoods or work in Community centres. There is a project that describes an "anti riot insurance". Because when young blacks have jobs they are not dissatisfied and hopeless and they don't make race riots.

Labour Government's - New Deal for young jobless

Britain has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the European Union. Being out of the work is a disaster for anyone, and often particularly hard for young people. School leavers who can't find a work miss out on important years of work experience. Welfare may give young people enough to live on but it does not give them self -respect or the chance to improve their situation.

So the government in Great Britain introduced a new "welfare-to-work" programme. This aims to get young people off benefits and into work.

Fist young people taking part in the programme will spend for months doing courses and getting advice on employment. Then they can decide to do:

A full or part time job with an employer

A six month job with the Government's environmental task force

A job for six months in the voluntary sector or

Full time training or education for up to one year.

Those who choose to take a job will also be given training to improve their skills.

Young people who do not accept any of the Government's options will have their benefits reduced. The new deal has therefor been described as the "work or else" programme.