There is a clear correlation between high female employment rates, the availability of childcare and care services, and high birth rates.

10. Recognises that in the case of modernising efforts and economic performance, the countries that are most successful are those that combine forward-looking and well-balanced structural reforms with higher-than-average investment in research, development and innovation, education, lifelong learning and child-care, and the renewal of reliable social networks; notes that, for the most part, the same Member States have a highly efficient and transparent administration, with budget surpluses, lower-than-average debt rates, and high-quality, effective and targeted public spending, while showing signs of a contribution by technical progress ...[+++] to the national growth result that is almost twice the size of the EU average; notes, furthermore, that those "benchmark" Member States are, as a result of their high employment rates, including the employment of women and older workers, and their particularly high birth rates, those that are best prepared for an ageing society and for guaranteeing a high level of competitiveness;

10. Recognises that in the case of modernising efforts and economic performance, the countries that are most successful are those that combine forward-looking and well-balanced structural reforms with higher-than-average investment in research, development and innovation, education, lifelong learning and child-care, and the renewal of reliable social networks; notes that, for the most part, the same Member States have a highly efficient and transparent administration, with budget surpluses, lower-than-average debt rates, and high-quality, effective and targeted public spending, while showing signs of a contribution by technical progress ...[+++] to the national growth result that is almost twice the size of the EU average; notes, furthermore, that those "benchmark" Member States are, as a result of their high employment rates, including the employment of women and older workers, and their particularly high birth rates, those that are best prepared for an ageing society and for guaranteeing a high level of competitiveness;

10. Recognises that in the case of modernising efforts and economic performance, the countries that are most successful are those that combine forward-looking and well-balanced structural reforms with higher-than-average investment in research, development and innovation, education, lifelong learning and child-care, and the renewal of reliable social networks; notes that, for the most part, the same Member States have a highly efficient and transparent administration, with budget surpluses, lower than average debt rates, and high-quality, effective and targeted public spending, while showing signs of a contribution by technical progress ...[+++] to the national growth result that is almost twice the size of the EU average; notes, furthermore, that those ‘benchmark’ Member States are, as a result of their high employment rates, including the employment of women and older workers, and their particularly high birth rates, those that are best prepared for an ageing society and for guaranteeing a high level of competitiveness;

While the current problems facing social protection systems in Acceding countries greatly differ among them, the following features seem to be more widely present [18]: (i) low participation rates: with some exceptions, Acceding countries show low participation rates partly reflecting high unemployment and high dependency ratios, which result from the extensive use of early retirement and invalidity pensions used during the economic restructuring processes underwent in the 1970-80's.

In 2000, the employment rate in the top 10% of regions in the EU (defined as those with the highest rates accounting for 10% of the population) averaged 77.2%, whereas the employment rate in the bottom 10% (defined in an equivalent way) averaged under 46% (Map 3 - Employment rates, 2000 and Table 4 - Regions with highest and lowest employment rates, 1999/2000).