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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.
 

Topic

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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During the pandemic, many young people had to change their plans for the future. While at the end of 2023 young people’s labour market situation was more favourable than it...

21 Μάιος 2024
Publication
Research report
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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.

Web page

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 (149)

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

Europe has begun to emerge from the prolonged slump caused by the global financial crisis in 2008 and exacerbated by the euro zone single-currency crisis in 2010–2011. In the last year, aggregate employment levels have risen faster than at any time since 2008. This, the fourth annual European Jobs

09 July 2015

The European Restructuring Monitor’s annual report for 2014 explores the rapid transformation of the public sector in Europe since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008. Initially, employment expansion in the sector helped to stabilise Europe’s economy while the private sector suffered severe

04 March 2015

This report examines the evidence and policy lessons that can be drawn from the findings of the fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) carried out in 2010. The focus is on the links between working conditions and labour market participation in the light of the EU’s longstanding policy

25 September 2014

This report looks in detail at recent shifts in the employment structure at Member State and EU level, examining the main sectors and occupations that have contributed to job loss and job growth. It finds, for example, that in 2011–2013, the majority of net employment losses continued to occur in

07 July 2014

This policy brief highlights findings on a specific topic from Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) that is of particular interest from a policy perspective. It brings results of the analysis of these data together with evidence from other Eurofound projects to formulate a number of

14 June 2014

Ireland’s economy is relatively small and trade-dependent and is considered one of the most globalised and open in the world. It suffered disproportionate damage following the 2008–2009 global recession as a large construction and financial sector bust revealed widespread misallocation of resources

26 March 2013

This report describes recent structural shifts in employment in European labour markets before, during and after the 2008–2009 recession. It finds that employment destruction across Europe in the recession was strongly polarising in terms of the wage structure, while there was less polarisation in

13 March 2013

The aim of flexicurity is to improve employment opportunities for workers, while at the same time increasing flexibility, enabling organisations to adapt their operations and employment levels to business needs. The past few years have, however, been particularly challenging for European labour

03 July 2012

This report summarises available data on recent employment trends for older workers in the EU27 as well as the results of organisation case studies and overviews on developments in workplace age management undertaken by Eurofound in 2011. The first section uses Eurostat data to provide a statistical

23 May 2012

Online resources results (199)

Unemployment rate falls

The unemployment rate in France fell from 12.6% in June 1997 to 9% in January 2001, and labour shortages are starting to appear in some sectors. In early 2001, there has been considerable debate among the social partners and other parties as to the respective roles in the reduction of unemployment

Social partners face BSE emergency

The bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE) emergency affecting cattle is having a profound impact not only on health concerns but also on the economy and industrial relations in Italy. The crisis exploded in November 2000, following the alarm raised by the discovery that some French cattle were

PT criticises new incomes policy agreement

In January 2001, the Employers' Confederation of Service Industries (PT) published an economic and employment survey, which concludes that the demand for service sector employment is taking a downward turn. The organisation criticises the new national incomes policy agreement for 2001-2 as being too

Workers with disabilities still face employment integration problems and discrimination

Disabled people in France are benefiting from the improved employment situation considerably less than other workers. In spite of legislation on employment quotas, their integration into the mainstream workforce has been limited, while they are often subject to discrimination, particularly in

Teleworking in focus

There are variations in the definition of teleworking (TN9811201S [1]). In a broad sense, teleworking refers to any telesales staff, freelance businesses, consultants, mobile workers and technical support staff. In a narrower sense, teleworking specifically refers to people who use information and

Active labour market policies do not increase wage pressure

Extensive labour market programmes, offering subsidised employment and training to unemployed people, do not significantly contribute to increasing pressure on wages. This is the main finding of a paper published in November 2000 by two economic researchers at the governmental Office of Labour

The labour and social policy of the Federation of Austrian Industry

The Federation of Austrian Industry (Vereinigung der österreichischen Industrie [1], VÖI) is Austria's second central employers' organisation, alongside the Chamber of the Economy (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKÖ) (AT0009230F [2]). VÖI is a voluntary association (WKÖ membership is compulsory) of

Shift in employment policy proposed

In December 2000, the Economic Analysis Council published a report looking at the criteria necessary to attain" full employment" in France by 2010. Macroeconomic policies guaranteeing strong, sustained growth require more stringent structural policies to stimulate labour supply and improve labour

SEV criticises new draft bill on employment

In late November 2000, Federation of Greek Industries (SEV) commented on the government's recently issued draft bill on employment, which contains a number of measures reforming aspects of industrial relations such as overtime, working time flexibility and social insurance contributions. The

Report allays fears over impact of eastwards enlargement

On 21 May 2000 the findings of a report entitled The impact of eastern enlargement on employment and wages in the EU Member States [1] were presented by the European Commission. The research, which was carried out on behalf of the Commission, attempts to address a number of concerns voiced by the


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 Μάρτιος 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 Δεκέμβριος 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 Ιούλιος 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.

8 Ιούνιος 2021
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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 Φεβρουάριος 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 Μάιος 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 Φεβρουάριος 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 Οκτώβριος 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 Νοέμβριος 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 Νοέμβριος 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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