Vacas‑Soriano, Carlos
Minimum wages rise again, but the pandemic puts a brake on their growth
08 Červen 2021
Decision-makers approached minimum wage setting for 2021 cautiously due to the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Despite this, nominal statutory minimum wages rose in most Member States and the UK, although at lower rates than in recent years.
Labour market change: Trends and policy approaches towards flexibilisation
16 Duben 2020
What have been the major trends and policy developments regarding the flexibilisation of employment in recent years? Eurofound’s work programme for 2017–2020 set out to document and capture these changes in the world of work. This flags...
Labour market segmentation: Piloting new empirical and policy analyses
02 Prosinec 2019
This report sets out to describe what labour market segmentation is and why it is problematic for the labour market and society, as well as disadvantaged groups. It takes a broad view of the term to examine the situation that arises when the divergence in working conditions between different groups of workers is attributable to factors other than differentials in human capital levels.
Recent developments in the state of the middle classes
30 Říjen 2019
This report maps developments in the size of the middle class in the EU between 2004 and 2015 using Eurostat’s SILC survey, and analyses life satisfaction by income quartile (using Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Surveys). Before t...
European Jobs Monitor 2019: Shifts in the employment structure at regional level
07 Říjen 2019
Accumulating evidence indicates that large metropolitan centres are faring much better than other regions within the Member States of the EU. Such interregional inequality contributes to disenchantment with existing political systems, which in turn can weaken the social bonds that ground democratic systems. This is the context for the 2019 edition of the European Jobs Monitor, which analyses shifts in the employment structure – meaning change in the distribution of employment across occupations and sectors – of the EU regions.
What will be the impact of the new Spanish minimum wage?
17 Červenec 2019
The Socialist-led Spanish government that emerged last summer had, by the end of 2018, approved a hike in the statutory minimum wage. This was agreed with the left-wing Podemos party as part of an attempt to secure the parliamentary support needed for passing the proposed 2019 budget – although failure to do so resulted in the April election. The new minimum wage came into force on 1 January, rising from 14 monthly payments of €735.90 per year to €900 for those in full-time employment.
Minimum wages in 2019 - Annual review
04 Červen 2019
In most EU Member States, reviews of the statutory minimum wage rates spark a great deal of public interest. Such reviews affect the wider workforce, beyond those workers on the statutory minimum wage. Pay rates in collective agreements may...
Concept and practice of a living wage
30 Listopad 2018
A living wage has been defined as a measure of income that allows an employee a basic but socially acceptable standard of living. In recent decades, living wage initiatives have emerged in a small number of mainly English-speaking countries, including the UK and Ireland. These initiatives have developed in response to the inadequacy of income for many working households reliant on existing statutory minimum wage rates.
Germany’s minimum wage has reduced wage inequality
14 Červen 2018
Wages grew and wage inequality fell in most EU countries in 2015. Germany is not one of the countries where wages rose most, but it did have the largest reduction of wage inequality. Our analysis shows that the German minimum wage policy introduced in 2015 strongly lifted the wages of the lowest-paid employees, particularly those employees who were lower-skilled, younger or working in services.
Long-term unemployed youth: Characteristics and policy responses
14 Prosinec 2017
While the youth labour market has improved considerably since 2014, one legacy of the recent economic crisis is the large cohort of long-term unemployed young people, which represents nearly one-third of jobless young people. This report provides an updated profile of the youth labour market in 2016 and describes trends over the past decade.