At a time of continual changes and new social economic demands, severalimportant sectors became vulnerable. At the level of the labour market the increased need for higher levels of productivity and competitiveness led to the emergence of new skills which increased unemployment among those who had not adjusted to the changes and among those who invested in their training but had entered in the labour market later and later.
The inequalities increased thus swelling the number at risk of poverty. The demographic pictures also reflected these changes, on the one hand marked by lower rates of fertility and on the other hand by an evidently ageing population.
This situation has had two consequencies; first a worrying increase in the degree of dependence of the aged population; second a consequent decline in the proportion of employed people in relation to the number of pensioners, thus contributing to an increase in the cost of social contributions.

Keywords: Multivariate Analysis, HDI, socio-economic indicators, 27 member states of the European Union.