News

Eurofound analysis of the gender employment gap in the EU shows that its cost - when considering foregone earnings and missed welfare contributions of individuals to society, as well as the public finance cost - was estimated to be over €390 billion in 2023, corresponding to 2.3% of the EU’s GDP.

A new episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast series looks at data from the Living and working in the EU e-survey showing a decline in the number of respondents engaged in remote work, with the percentage of people working entirely from the workplace increasing from 36% in 2023, to 41% in 2024.

In this episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Deputy Director Maria Jepsen, and Barry Colfer, Director of Research at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), about European social change over the past 50 years, Eurofound’s role in these changes, how Ireland itself has developed and changed, and the challenges currently on the horizon.

The 22 EU Member States with a national minimum wage have announced their decisions on increases for 2025, except for Spain. Developments bring good news for workers on the minimum wage, who will see their wages increase substantially, beyond current inflation in most countries.

Respondents that participated in Eurofound’s 2024 e-survey were less optimistic about their future than those that took part in 2023, with the degree of optimism across all age groups falling considerably since 2020. The sharpest drop in optimism occurred among respondents in the 35–49 and 50–64 age groups, who reported the lowest levels of optimism in 2024.

Despite expectations that remote work or hybrid work would become a long-term norm following the pandemic, findings from Eurofound’s 2024 e-survey indicate a decline in remote work since 2023.