Publications by subject - Social cohesion - 2012

What determines life satisfaction and happiness? How do we value our social situation and immediate surroundings? How has this changed with the economic crisis? For the third wave of the European Quality of Life survey, 35,500 Europeans in all EU Member States were interviewed, in an effort to gain insights to these questions. This overview report presents findings and trends and shows that the impacts of the recession are indeed noticeable and measurable in some areas, while in others there are more long-term developments to be observed. While overall life satisfaction levels have not changed much, optimism about the future and trust in institutions have declined markedly in those countries most affected by the downturn. And groups that were already vulnerable – the long-term unemployed, older people in central and eastern Europe and single parents – report the highest levels of material deprivation and dissatisfaction with their life situation. An executive summary is also available.

The third European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) carried out in 2011 gives an authentic picture of living conditions and the social situation in the EU, enabling a comparison of experiences and conditions across Member States. The profound economic and social changes occurring in Europe between the second EQLS in 2007 and the third EQLS have also been reflected in the later survey, enabling Eurofound to reveal some preliminary indications of key changes in the overview report. The EQLS not only contributes to monitoring the changes in society but can also pinpoint emerging trends and concerns for the future. Read more in the report.

The economic crisis has severely damaged the employment prospects of the young generation, and employment among young people is now at the lowest level ever recorded by Eurostat. To better capture the extent of economic inactivity among the young, the concept of NEET – not in employment, education or training – has been developed. This report analyses the labour market situation of young people in Europe, with a specific focus on the NEET group. It examines the determinants of belonging to the NEET group, and measures the economic and social costs of NEETs. It also assesses how Member States through policies and interventions have sought to support young people to gain a foothold in the labour market. Read more in the report.

This report analyses the labour market situation of young people in Europe, with a specific focus on the NEET group. It examines the determinants of belonging to the NEET group, and measures the economic and social costs of NEETs. It also assesses how Member States through policies and interventions have sought to support young people to gain a foothold in the labour market. It shows that successful policy initiatives address specific, disadvantaged subgroups in the NEET population. They are client-centred in their efforts to set young people on a pathway to long-term, sustainable employment and they are innovative, adopting new ways of reaching a target group. An executive summary is also available.

The disability policy of the Irish Government has undergone radical change in the past decade, and is still changing. Underlying this transformation has been a change in philosophy towards mainstreaming in relation to all services for people with disabilities, especially in the fields of education, training, welfare and employment. There has also been a commitment to reorganise and improve services with a view to meeting this goal of mainstreaming, but the recent recession has reduced the resources available for upgrading services. In addition, a major reorganisation is taking place in the State Training and Employment Agency (FÁS), the final outcome of which is not yet clear. Read more on this topic.

Although a highly elaborated and differentiated rehabilitation system has been established in Germany and many measures may lead to adequate results, a general state of equality does not yet exist. But new opportunities, such as the personal budget since 2008 and supported employment, as well as the signing of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009, may help to form policies that increase the amount of independence and the degree of disability inclusion within Germany. The case studies in this report highlight the current paradigm shift and show that the existing rehabilitative structures and measures are becoming more flexible. Read more on this topic.

In France, there has been a continuous focus on the inclusion of people with disabilities since 1987, even though the achievements have been modest. The employment difficulties of young people with health problems or disabilities persist despite the existence of the quota scheme that places an obligation on employers to ensure that 6% of their employees are people with disabilities. Two main types of measures can change this situation. One is the development of school integration (mainstreaming), which would open new vocational training opportunities for young people with health problems to improve their access to employment. The other type of measure is the more frequent use of apprenticeships because young people with health problems or disabilities often have literacy problems and find it difficult to follow standard learning programmes. Apprenticeships may be a more suitable option for some people. Read more on this topic.

In recent years, Portugal has aimed to reform some of its main policies in order to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities. There has been a strong investment in enabling people with disabilities to gain qualifications and in promoting their integration into the labour market. Services and benefits aiming to promote social and professional participation and economic independence are managed and regulated by the ministries of Economy and Employment; Health; Education and Science; and Solidarity and Social Welfare. Currently, Portugal has a policy of greater activation, particularly leveraged by programmes and legal documents that have been established over the past few years and are described in this report. Read more on this topic.

In Slovakia, the most popular measure to support the employment of young people with health problems or disabilities is a public subsidy for employers and for self-employment to establish sheltered workshops or sheltered workplaces and to cover the related running costs. Some social and work rehabilitation programmes are provided by specialised centres (in Bratislava for physically disabled people and in Levoča for visually impaired people) or by employment support agencies (in May 2011 59 agencies in total provided assistance to people with all types of disabilities in Slovakia). The available data revealed that employment support measures were provided mainly for people with disabilities over 25 years of age. Read more on this topic.

The report provides comparable information about parenting support and education services for families with children, in particular services for families with children of pre-school age. The report draws on information gathered in a literature review and on seven country reports that examine service provision in Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal and Sweden. Each country report includes case studies of services that have been used as a guideline to determine what works well. Read more in the report.

This issue of Foundation Focus looks at young people in Europe and particularly how they are affected by the economic crisis. Youth unemployment rates have always been higher than overall unemployment rates, but the crisis has had a dramatic effect on the job perspectives of young people. The growth of the cohort known as NEETs, those not in employment, education or training, is testament to this. There are initiatives to combat the situation, but with mixed results so far. Migration is an option, but does it help in the long run? And what about the working conditions of those who have a job? How easy is it to gain the experience and find training to move into more stable, permanent employment?

This Eurofound study examines the situation of young people with health problems or disabilities in 11 countries and at EU level, with an emphasis on assessing the implementation of active inclusion policy at national level. An overview report as well as national reports for Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, and the United Kingdom are available.

This study focuses on debt advisory services, especially on how access to and quality of services can be improved. The study identifies successful debt counselling measures and outlines the conditions that contribute to good practice. Building on an earlier working paper, the study brings together international data and literature on the topic, providing an overview and a comparative perspective. Most importantly, the research draws on evidence from country studies in Hungary, Ireland, Portugal and Sweden. Each country study includes case studies of specific debt advisory services. An executive summary is available.

This study focuses on debt advisory services, especially on how access to and quality of services can be improved. The study identifies successful debt counselling measures and outlines the conditions that contribute to good practice. Building on an earlier working paper, the study brings together international data and literature on the topic, providing an overview and a comparative perspective. Most importantly, the research draws on evidence from country studies in Hungary, Ireland, Portugal and Sweden. Each country study includes case studies of specific debt advisory services. Read more in the report.

As in many other countries in Europe, the number of young people not in employment, education or training in the UK has risen in recent years. Information collected by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) provides a picture of increasing reliance on benefits by these young people. The number of young people in receipt of any benefit rose from 12.2% to 16.1% between 2002 and 2010. Between 2003 and 2010, the combined number of young people with health problems or disabilities claiming specific disability benefits (Disability Living Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and Employment and Support Allowance) rose from 21.5% to 33.3% of all benefit claimants. This should be viewed within a context where the absolute number of people with disabilities in the UK did not increase over the same period. Read more on this topic.

Denmark is a welfare society. The current aspiration of Danish disability policy is equal treatment for all, regardless of physical or mental capacity. This objective is the result of an evolutionary process, the effect of which is that people with disabilities are increasingly integrated into society and into the open labour market. In Denmark, labour market policy is targeted at integration and retention. Based on the principle of compensation, society offers people with disabilities a range of services in order to limit the consequences of impairment as much as possible and also to provide disabled people, as far possible, with equal opportunities on the open labour market. The social system therefore offers a combination of income protection and employment activation. Read more on this topic.

In Poland policy relating to people with disabilities does not differentiate between different groups – all groups are treated equally. There are no policies or programmes that particularly promote the participation of young people with disabilities in the open labour market. As in many other countries, young people face significant challenges entering the job market (especially the open market). Moreover, the Polish labour market still has relatively few jobs for people with disabilities. Most are employed in sheltered workshops. According to the employment records of people with disabilities, almost 93% of those employed in the sheltered labour market have regular employment contracts. Read more on this topic.

The situation of young people in the labour market in Finland worsened during the recent economic recession. It has subsequently improved, but these positive changes don’t cover all job seekers, for example young people with health problems or disabilities. The employment rate of people with disabilities remains low, and the trend seems to be that the number of subsidised workplaces has decreased, while vocational training and similar activities have increased. There have been some improvements recently, but many young people with health problems or disabilities are still not part of the labour force. Read more on this topic.

In Spain disability is officially recognised when the competent evaluation services assess a person as having a minimum 33% disability level. This evaluation is carried out by regional governments and there are differences among regions, which can result in a person obtaining a disability certification in one region when they may not in another. Integration in education and employment remains a challenge for institutions and organisations, as many disabled students and workers are still segregated. Fear of change and also fear of losing benefits if they enter into employment remain big barriers to inclusion. Read more on this topic.