"According this edition of the EU Employment and Social Situation Quarterly Review, labour market and social challenges have been growing over recent months, as the EU is still faced with ever higher unemployment and the lowest employment figures since the onset of the crisis. The employment and social situation in the EU remained critical in the first quarter of 2013 with employment receding overall and unemployment rising further, trends which concentrate in the southern members of the euro area. The situation of many households, and of young people in particular, remains serious. Nearly a quarter of economically active young people in the EU are unemployed. The sharp fall in young people's employment in some countries partly reflects differences in labour market structures, and in particular the role of temporary contracts. In the context of divergence across the EU, the number of people wanting to move to another country has substantially increased. The Review also notes the importance of quality childcare in mitigating inequalities at an early stage and explores the results of the first wave of the European Central Bank's Household Finance and Consumption Survey. Recent developments in the financial and insurance activities sector, as well as in Slovenia and Croatia, are also analysed in this edition. "

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