The labour markets of the different European Union countries still vary widely. Country groupings are apparent, ranging from the northern European countries with their high employment rates across all age groups, to new member countries with high unemployment. The different institutional and economic histories of the countries help to explain these disparities. These countries, however, do share certain concerns, namely how to increase the overall employment rate of people aged between 15 and 64, particularly women and older people. These policies have encouraged a convergence of ideas about how best to deal with unemployment amongst seniors, albeit with only mixed results so far. Within Europe, France can be found somewhere in the middle of these statistics, weighed down by youth and senior unemployment levels, and increasingly prevalent part-time employment compared to most other European countries.