Today competing social systems create the impression that institutions of the welfare state are blurring the relationship between wage levels and employment, thus triggering a vicious circle. Excessively high unit wage costs boost unemployment. Mounting unemployment raises the costs of employment and pension insurance, and rising financial burdens lead to further increases in taxation and social charges. At the same time employment falls and rising employers' social security contributions act as a tax on labour. Yet in the EU future prospects of national social security systems differ substantially due to different institutional set-ups, budgetary situations, economic conditions, social attitudes and demographic trends.
Most undeclared work is carried out by people who have a regular job and hold down another job.
The losses in contributions lead to a fall in the quality of public services, a development which can prompt governments to increase taxes and social contributions yet further. It is for this reason that comprehensively targeted strategy is essential. The largest rises were in Ireland, Finland and Sweden, and the lowest in the UK, Greece, and The Netherlands. All Member States except The Netherlands recorded a better performance than the year before. Worth a fortune It is little known that patents form the largest source of technical information in the world today.