Abstract
The labor market is truly a special market because labor is not like any goods. Labor market involves particular regulations and arrangements because what is sold is people's time and skills. Besides the economic goal of performance there is also a social requirement to fulfill. This is why labor market is often a priority in politics. With regard to the European Union despite the right to move freely in Europe there is no "European Labor market" there are national labor markets with different regulations depending on the customs of each Member State.
However, as the European integration becomes closer, it is not to exclude that the EU may become a single integrated labor market one day. Because the European integration would be a unique experience thus it will be interesting to look at the impact of such integration in labor markets. In consequence, we will look first at the particular characteristics of labor markets in Europe, and why are they not doing very well, then we will move on to the impact of European integration as a potential way of improving European labor markets.
What are the characteristics of the European labor markets? Unfortunately, one of the main characteristics is their high rates of unemployment. Because the performance of labor markets is defined by the ability to reach full employment, European labor markets in general are not doing well. The unemployment population of potential workers are between 15 and 64 years old. In 2012 only 64.2% had a job (see appendix 1 for more details). It is much lower than in the United States, even if in these past few years the gap has been reducing.
