(Brussels) “Europe has been growing again. In the EU, employment has reached the highest level ever, with over 236 million employed people, while unemployment is decreasing all the time”. This was pointed out by Marianne Thyssen, commissioner for employment and welfare, in the light of the latest quarterly survey on employment and social development in Europe, which found that, in the third quarter of 2017, “driven by sound economic growth, employment in the European Union has recorded a much higher increase than expected, while unemployment figures have further decreased”. Thyssen goes on: “We should make the most of this favourable economic dynamics and give citizens new, more effective rights, as laid down by the European Pillar of Social Rights: fair working conditions, equal access to the employment market, and dignified social protection. The time has come to make sure all citizens and workers may benefit from these favourable developments of the employment market”. Compared with last year, employment in the EU – the survey shows – has increased by 1.7%, equal to 4 million more employed people, 2.7 million of them in the euro-zone. “The greatest contribution to such growth comes from permanent jobs and full-time employment: from the third quarter of 2016 to 2017, the number of people in permanent jobs has grown by 2.8 million, a rise that is three times greater than that of temporary jobs (900 thousand).