In 1996, despite the sharply lower unemployment rate and the demonstrably tighter labor market, the same survey organization found that 46 percent were fearful of a job layoff. The continued reluctance of workers to leave their jobs to seek other employment as the labor market has tightened provides further evidence of such concern, as does the tendency toward longer labor union contracts.
Economic and monetary integration  The second session tomorrow morning is devoted to international linkages and the macroeconomic performance of the new Member States, by looking at the interrelation between the processes of integration into the EU-25 and into the global economy. This may seem as a rather specific angle from which to analyse the enlargement process.