BRUSSELS, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Unemployment in the European Union (EU) is down and employment on the rise thanks to labor market reforms of member states, says an employment report published on Monday.

    The European Commission report, which assesses member states' implementation of their national reform programs in the area of employment, is to be adopted by employment ministers on Thursday.

    Although the report is upbeat, it underlines the need for more rigorous reforms, in particular to better balance flexibility with security in the job market -- the "flexicurity" approach.

    "Labor market reforms are bearing fruit. But if Europe is to respond seriously and effectively to the challenges of globalization and a rapidly shrinking working population, flexicurity must be the order of the day," said Vladimir Spidla, EU commissioner for employment and social affairs.

    "Workers must be able to move easily and with confidence from one job to the next."

    Unemployment in the EU fell from 9.1 percent in 2004 to 8.8 percent in 2005 and the employment rate rose by 0.8 percent in 2005 -- the biggest increase since 2001. ¡¡