**Maria-Ana Georgescu and Emilia Herman \***

Faculty of Economics and Law, University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Tirgu-Mures, 540139 Tirgu Mures, Romania; maria.georgescu@ea.upm.ro

**\*** Correspondence: emilia.herman@ea.upm.ro; Tel.: +40-745-258-520

Received: 24 February 2019; Accepted: 20 March 2019; Published: 24 March 2019

**Abstract:** It is widely recognized that achieving highly productive employment is a serious challenge facing inclusive and sustainable development. In this context, the aim of this article was to highlight the main characteristics and mechanisms of productive employment, focusing on the interrelationships between productive employment, and inclusive and sustainable development in European Union countries, during the recent economic crisis and recovery period (2007–2016). The results of the correlation and regression analysis suggest that the high level of inclusive and sustainable development in some European Union countries can be mainly explained by high labor productivity, an efficient sectoral structure of employment, a low level of vulnerable and precarious employment, and low working poverty. Moreover, the results of the principal component analysis and cluster analysis show that there are common features and differences between the European Union member states in terms of their interrelationship between productive employment, and inclusive and sustainable development, which emphasizes the need to take specific actions to transform unproductive employment into productive employment, especially in southern countries and some central and eastern European countries, so that productive employment will be the driving force for development.

**Keywords:** inclusive and sustainable development; productive employment; labor productivity; sectoral structure of employment; working poverty; correlation and regression analysis; principal component analysis; cluster analysis
