As regards labour demand, there is a need to reduce labour market rigidities, for they restrict wage differentiation and flexibility, and thus tend to discourage the hiring of younger and older workers in particular. At a time of rapid technological change, a flexible labour market is essential to facilitate the adjustment of human capital to labour market needs.
Too rigid  5  Source AMECO database. Data on hours worked per worker for the euro area for 2007 are assumed to be constant. Data on hours worked per worker for the US are estimated using the OECD data for 2006 and 2007. 6  Source: European Commission.