Full employment in Europe : managing labour market transitions and risks ch. 1. The European employment objective : how full can full employment be ch. 2. The European employment strategy : how far away are we from the Lisbon goals ch. 3. Comparing the performance of employment systems : is jobless growth on the horizon ch. 4. Beyond employment performance : is the Lisbon strategy on the right track ch. 5. Risky transitions over the life course : bridges or traps ch. 6. Perception and management of social risks: in the past the future always seems better ch. 7. New forms of governance in labour market policy : are there any limits to privatisation ch. 8. Managing risks through transitional labour markets : can flexibility and security be married Transitional Labour Markets (TLM) defined as legitimate negotiated and politically supported sets of various employment options in critical events over the life course are an essential ingredient of modern full employment strategies. After assessing the European Employment Strategy this book offers a detailed comparative analysis of employment performance for selected European member states and the United States. It suggests that successful employment systems arise from a new paradigm of flexibility and security (flexicurity) the balance of which varies according to countries institutional paths. Whilst there is no best practice TLM theory does provide normative and analytical principles that can be generalised for various institutional settings. The book also provides good practice examples for managing critical transitions over the life course from education to employment from one job to another from unemployment to employment from private activities to gainful work and from employment to retirement and develops the contours for extending unemployment insurance to work life insurance