Europeans pessimistic about prospects for future regarding jobs and pay
Published: 14 September 2008
Europe’s citizens have a relatively pessimistic view of their future, particularly in relation to work, according to the results of the Eurobarometer survey – Expectations of European citizens regarding the social reality in 20 years’ time (3.1Mb PDF) [1] – published in July 2008 (see below for more details about the survey methodology). With regard to social conditions in 20 years’ time, 80% of the survey respondents believe that people’s working lives will be extended. About 70% of the respondents agree that even highly qualified people will have no guarantee of finding a good job, while more than half (57%) agree that earnings will be lower because of competition from developing economies. In response to the question of whether working conditions would be better, the results were almost evenly split, with 51% agreeing and 49% disagreeing that working conditions would be improved.[1] http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_227_en.pdf
A Eurobarometer survey shows that almost half of the respondents believe that in 20 years’ time they will be worse off than today. Fears for the future centre on the inability to get good jobs and the likelihood of lower earnings, together with widespread assumptions that working life will be extended. Confidence in the future is higher in the new Member States. Meanwhile, respondents predict a narrowing of the gap in equal opportunities between men and women at work.
Europe’s citizens have a relatively pessimistic view of their future, particularly in relation to work, according to the results of the Eurobarometer survey – Expectations of European citizens regarding the social reality in 20 years’ time (3.1Mb PDF) – published in July 2008 (see below for more details about the survey methodology). With regard to social conditions in 20 years’ time, 80% of the survey respondents believe that people’s working lives will be extended. About 70% of the respondents agree that even highly qualified people will have no guarantee of finding a good job, while more than half (57%) agree that earnings will be lower because of competition from developing economies. In response to the question of whether working conditions would be better, the results were almost evenly split, with 51% agreeing and 49% disagreeing that working conditions would be improved.
Nevertheless, a general view prevailed that society would be more equal: 72% of respondents believed that opportunities would be more equal between men and women; a similar proportion felt that young people’s opportunities would be less dependent on their family background. Slightly more than half of those surveyed agreed that there would be greater harmony between people from different cultural or religious backgrounds and nationalities. In addition, more than half believed that access to education and training would be easier for everyone.
The Eurobarometer survey demonstrates that a significant variety of opinion exists in the different Member States. In general, respondents living in the older Member States are less optimistic about the future. However, equally important differences emerge according to gender, age and education.
Expectations of women and men
The survey finds that men are more likely than women to expect that their lives will be better in 20 years’ time. In relation to equality of opportunity, male respondents were also more positive than their female counterparts (Table 1).
| % men (strongly agree) | % women (strongly agree) | |
|---|---|---|
| Lives will be better than today | 42 | 34 |
| Working conditions will be better | 13 | 9 |
| Access to training will be easier | 17 | 14 |
| Opportunities will be more equal between men and women | 22 | 16 |
Source: Eurobarometer survey, carried out in April 2008
Influence of age and education on expectations
The survey also finds a correlation between age and levels of optimism, with older respondents – that is, those aged 55 years and over – exhibiting significantly less optimism about the future compared with the youngest respondents. Some 60% of respondents in the 15 to 24 age group believed that more harmonious relationships would exist in the future between people from different cultures and religious backgrounds, compared with 53% of those aged 55 years and older. Young people were also more optimistic that opportunities between men and women would be more equal and that working conditions would be better. Furthermore, they were less likely to think that working life would be extended and that the gap between rich and poor would widen.
Educational attainment also affected individuals’ assessments of the future. Generally, those with lower educational qualifications were more pessimistic, although they perceived that greater equality in terms of gender and family background would prevail (Table 2). Manual workers were more likely to believe that the gap between rich and poor would widen, while self-employed people were more likely to agree that working conditions would be better.
| Respondents with minimum education levels (% strongly agree) | Respondents with highest educational qualifications (% strongly agree) | |
|---|---|---|
| Lives will be better than today | 25 | 46 |
| Earnings will be lower than today due to competition from developing economies | 25 | 16 |
| High educational qualifications will not guarantee good jobs | 37 | 28 |
| Young people’s chances will be more dependent on their own efforts | 26 | 20 |
| Opportunities will be more equal between men and women | 21 | 19 |
Source: Eurobarometer survey, carried out in April 2008
About the survey
The survey covers the 27 Member States of the EU and was conducted between 9 and 13 April 2008. Over 25,000 randomly selected individuals were interviewed by telephone for the survey; to correct for sampling disparities, a post-stratification weighting of the results was implemented, based on sociodemographic variables. The survey was conducted as a Flash Eurobarometer survey and the fieldwork was coordinated by Gallup Europe.
Sonia McKay, Working Lives Research Institute
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2008), Europeans pessimistic about prospects for future regarding jobs and pay, article.
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