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Labour market policies

To improve the functioning of labour markets, policymakers need to address labour market mismatches, labour market segmentation, and design employment policies geared towards the integration of specific groups into the labour market. Active labour market policies (ALMP) are public interventions which are explicitly targeted at groups of persons with difficulties in the labour market. These policies include Public Employment Services or other publicly funded services for jobseekers. Active support to employment is included in the European Pillar of Social Rights.
 

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Eurofound research

Explore Eurofound's regularly updated EU PolicyWatch database of measures introduced by governments and social partners in the EU Member States to alleviate the effects on businesses, workers and citizens of recent crises – COVID-19, the war in Ukraine and rising inflation. It also lists policies to support the digital and green transitions, as well companies that need to restructure. 

Database: EU PolicyWatch

Recent updates

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From July to December 2023, Eurofound supported the work of Spain's presidency of the Council of the EU, providing valuable research results on specific topics linked with the presidency priorities.

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Eurofound expert(s)

John Hurley

John Hurley is a senior research manager in the Employment unit at Eurofound. He took up the role of research manager in February 2012. He is responsible for the European...

Senior research manager,
Employment research unit
Publications results (148)

Labour market slack is the shortfall between the volume of work desired by workers and the actual volume of work available. The most important indicator of labour slack is the unemployment rate, but an exclusive focus on this fails to take account of the four-fifths of the jobless population who are

18 July 2017

The 2016 annual report from the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) provides evidence of the employment impact of recent restructuring activity in Europe based on the European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) and the ERM events database. The thematic part of this year’s report centres on trends

01 February 2017

Reducing labour taxes or offering incentives to hire new workers could motivate employers to either retain staff who might otherwise have been let go or to create new jobs. Since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, both types of measure have been deployed in many EU Member States.

30 January 2017

This report expands on existing research on the labour market integration of refugees and asylum seekers as a response to the refugee crisis. It updates information on legislation and practical arrangements in the first half of 2016, examines labour market integration in the broader context of

14 December 2016

Although standard employment is still dominant in European labour markets, an increasing range of new employment forms is emerging that differ in their implications for working conditions. This study explores strategic employee sharing, an employment form for companies that have specific HR needs

21 November 2016

The European Jobs Monitor 2016 looks at 2011 Q2–2015 Q2 employment shifts at Member State and aggregate EU level. A ‘jobs-based’ approach is used to describe employment shifts quantitatively (how many jobs were created or destroyed) and qualitatively (what kinds of jobs). It also introduces a new

20 June 2016

This report explores the involvement of peak social partners in the European Semester at EU and national level during the period 2011 to 2014. While their role in the European Semester is not set out in the European economic governance provisions (the so-called ‘Six-Pack’), the European

16 February 2016

Throughout Europe families have felt the effects of the economic crisis that began in 2008. This report describes their experience in the aftermath of the crisis, up to the present. It looks in detail at developments in 10 Member States that were selected to represent different types of family

27 January 2016

Temporary employment has increased since the 1980s in most European countries as a result of demands for greater flexibility in labour markets and subsequent reforms of employment protection legislation. This report presents a broad picture of temporary employment across the EU27 between 2001 and

15 December 2015

This report describes the findings of a study of change in job tenure between 2002 and 2012 in the EU. The study examined change in mean tenure as well as the distribution of short and long tenure in the EU and in individual Member States. It also looked at differences in tenure according to

15 July 2015

Online resources results (199)

Labour cost reductions pose new challenges to industrial relations in banking

Over the past few months, the Governor of the Bank of Italy, Antonio Fazio, and the Abi banking employers' association have urged the Government to start negotiations with employers' associations and trade unions in order to deal with the problems linked to the low profitability of the Italian

Reduction of working time is key issue

In the framework of negotiations for the two-year National General Collective Agreement covering the years 1996 and 1997, the GSEE (Greek General Confederation of Labour) trade union confederation placed on the agenda of discussions with the employers its demand for the reduction of weekly working

1996 solidarity pact in the chemical industry proves successful

The German chemical industry enjoys a long tradition of successful consensus-based industrial relations. In spring 1996, the bargaining partners concluded a "solidarity pact" in the form of a package of regional and national collective agreements. The agreements ran for 12 months and covered 590,000

A new role model - centralised wage bargaining in Ireland

One of the keenest debates in industrial relations in Europe is the relationship between the institutional structure of the labour market and economic performance and, in particular, the contribution of the wage determination process to national competitiveness. Considerable attention has focused on

Working time moves to the top of the agenda

The immediate catalyst for the current prominence of working time in UK industrial relations is the failure in November 1996 of the Government's attempt to have the EU Directive on certain aspects of the organisation of working time (Council Directive 93/104/EC of 23 November 1993) annulled by the

Implementation of the tripartite Pact for Employment

The Italian Government and social partners are currently implementing their tripartite "Pact for Employment" (Patto per il Lavoro), which is intended to promote employment and foster economic development in Italy through the introduction of a wide and complex set of policies. The agreement, signed

Employers and unions adopt positions on labour market reform

Employers and unions want to reduce the amount of temporary recruitment and the number of types of employment contract. They also want to increase their freedom to negotiate labour market issues through collective bargaining. These are the key issues in the current debate over a new round of labour

Apparent breakdown of Belgian central bargaining

For the first time since 1960, the Belgian social partners have failed to reach an intersectoral pay agreement and have instead accepted government imposition of measures on employment and maximum pay increases. This development runs counter to all traditions of free collective bargaining and the

Proposal to exempt long-term unemployed people from legal minimum wage

The Dutch Government wants to allow employers temporary exemptions from the legal minimum wage [1] (WML- wettelijk minimumloon), and to that end, a bill was submitted to Parliament in 1996. The target group consists of long-term unemployed people aged between 20 and 65. The purpose of the bill is to


Blogs results (10)
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The European Commission declared 2023 as the European Year of Skills, stating ‘Helping people get the right skills for quality jobs and helping companies, in particular small and medium enterprises, address skills shortages in the EU is what this year is all about.’

27 März 2023
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We need to study and understand the blow Europe’s youth have suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to adjust recovery and resilience measures to their needs: without prioritising young people in the present, we have little hope for the future.

3 Dezember 2021
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Following the declines in employment rates and working hours across Europe in 2020, economies began to show signs of recovery during the first quarter of 2021. The gradual rekindling of economic activity has led to a surge in demand for workers and reawakened concerns over labour shortages

20 Juli 2021
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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.

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​​​​​​​To date, close to six million workers in the EU have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. Many businesses have closed their doors forever or been pushed to the brink, bringing severe financial and psychological hardship to the individuals and families affected. However, the toll of the pandemic

9 Februar 2021
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On 2 April, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new fund of up to €100 billion to support EU Member States to introduce short-time working or similar schemes, including for the self-employed, in an effort to safeguard jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Known as SURE

5 Mai 2020
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At the very outset of its mandate, the new European Commission presented the European Green Deal, establishing the objective of becoming the first climate-neutral bloc in the world by 2050. The initiative emphasises the seriousness which the European Commission places on the climate and biodiversity

21 Februar 2020
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Economic disparities have been decreasing between EU member states over the past decade, but at the same time inequality has been growing within member states. Despite national level convergence, the gap in wealth and income between the rich and the poor is growing in most of Europe. Some of this

29 Oktober 2019
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Unemployment in the EU is continuing to fall, with the rate approaching its 2008 low point. This is good news: the Europe 2020 target of 75% employment in the working age population is now in sight for many Member States. However, as unemployment reaches new lows, the opposite problem is emerging –

19 November 2018
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In the abstract, platform work is the matching of supply and demand for paid work through an online platform. In practice, most people are likely to have encountered it through big online platforms such as Uber, Deliveroo or Amazon Mechanical Turk. This is a new form employment that began to emerge

2 November 2018
Upcoming publications results (2)

This report provides updated data on the scale of labour shortages and labour market slack in the EU and at Member State level and focusses on organisational policies aimed at attracting workers in shortage occupations. It provides lessons on steps employers can take to fill vacancies, whether actin

September 2024
Forthcoming
Publication
Research report

Job retention schemes were the main policy instruments used across the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic to preserve employment and support businesses. The report provides an analysis of job retention schemes in the EU, focusing on their institutional characteristics, their impact on employment levels

September 2024
Forthcoming
Publication
Research report

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