Building resilience after COVID-19: EU measures to protect jobs and promote skills
Since 2011, the Restructuring support instruments database of the EU PolicyWatch has been collecting information on...
Employment and labour markets
21 March 2023
Employment and labour markets is one of the six main activities in Eurofound’s work programme for the 2021–2024 period.Read more
Employment and labour markets is one of the six main activities in Eurofound’s work programme for the 2021–2024 period. Eurofound will continue to operate as a centre of expertise for monitoring and analysing labour market developments, particularly as European labour markets are faced with major challenges in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its data collection and research will focus on the consequences of the pandemic for work and employment and how to maintain the functioning and inclusiveness of the labour market.
During 2021–2024, Eurofound’s research will provide important insights into the challenges and prospects in the area of employment and labour markets in the EU. Eurofound has an important role to play in monitoring trends in the labour market, as well as monitoring the impact of these trends for different groups of workers.
- Infographic: Employment and labour markets in the EU
Research will focus overall on the changing structure of the labour market using Eurofound’s well established monitoring instruments, the European Jobs Monitor (EJM) and the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM), alongside Eurostat data. With high levels of unemployment expected in some countries, regions, sectors and occupations, affecting also the most precarious and vulnerable workers, these instruments will help identify growing and declining sectors, occupations and qualifications. The ERM will also continue to examine large-scale restructuring events, legislative and support instruments, as well as measures developed by social partners and public authorities to assist workers transitioning between jobs or sectors.
Eurofound will also focus on labour shortages and under-utilised human resources and talent in certain sectors and occupations – accentuated during COVID-19 – by exploring policy interventions and company practices. Specific topics will include skills mismatches, working time, geographical or occupational mobility, and the integration of migrants, as well as covering groups underrepresented in the labour market such as young people, women and people with disabilities. Eurofound will also look at sectors traditionally affected by labour shortages, the issue becoming more urgent due to the pandemic. This activity will feed into the preparatory work for the next edition of the European Company Survey (ECS).
Eurofound’s collaboration with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) will also continue in this area. Research on restructuring will contribute to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) and the European Social Fund+ (ESF+) activities. Links with sister agency Cedefop and the European Labour Authority will be explored as regards skills and labour mobility in the context of employment policies aimed at tackling labour shortages
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EU context
TopAddressing stakeholder priorities
TopEurofound’s research aims to assist policy action to provide knowledge to support structural change, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to help address the challenges facing the EU and national levels in the areas of employment and labour market structures.
Read moreEurofound’s research aims to assist policy action to provide knowledge to support structural change, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to help address the challenges facing the EU and national levels in the areas of employment and labour market structures.
Specifically, Eurofound collects data and analyses trends in employment and labour market developments, identifying and examining gaps and groups at risk, in order to provide the European Commission and other EU institutions, Member State bodies and social partners with the support needed to devise more effective employment policies.
The Agency’s work plan is aligned with the European Commission’s political guidelines 2021–2024, directly feeding into a number of key policy areas aimed at creating a strong social Europe. In particular, Eurofound’s research will support policy initiatives under the European Pillar of Social Rights in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis and activities linked to, among other initiatives, the European Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025, the reinforced Youth Guarantee, the Youth Employment Support package, the skills agenda, as well as innovation and job creation and the European Commission’s proposal for adequate minimum wages in the EU.
- European Commission: Priorities 2019–2024: An economy that works for people
- European Commission: Priorities 2019–2024: A Europe fit for the digital age
- European Commission: Priorities 2019–2024: A European Green Deal
Blogs on this topic
Show more (12)
Key policy messages
Top
The main findings emerging from Eurofound research serve as input for policymakers to address some of the key issues in this area.
- Prior to the unfolding of the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis, Europe’s labour market recovery was bringing the EU employment rate close to its EU2020 target of 75%. Although unique in its specific nature, lessons from previous crises have shown that retaining workers’ attachment to the labour market and, where possible, enhancing skills are important ways to ensure a rapid recovery.
- Employment growth has been consistently weakest in mid-paid jobs – most noticeably during recessions – and consistently strongest in well-paid jobs.
- Stability in levels of atypical work is masking a rise in precarious work for certain groups, with growing numbers of workers on ‘other’ or ‘no contracts’. The COVID-19 pandemic is further exposing the plight of these workers who have been hardest hit by the crisis and are at risk of being most severely affected over the longer term.
- The growth of different types of non-standard work is leading to deeper divisions in EU labour markets between well-protected workers and those with limited access to social protection and employment rights, contributing to greater labour market segmentation. This is particularly the case for the growing numbers of those in ‘compound non-standard’ employment (having a mix of non-standard work statuses: for example, temporary and part-time, self-employed and part-time).
- The current rise in precarious jobs will require policy solutions to support workers with limited access to social protection and representation. This is all the more relevant in the context of the emerging impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, which poses particular existential risks to many precarious and self-employed workers.
Current and ongoing research
TopIn 2023, Eurofound will continue to monitor and analyse how the EU’s labour market structure is changing, looking at patterns related to employment status, workers’ demographic characteristics, and net job creation and job loss by sector and occupation, particularly in light of COVID-19 and theRead more
In 2023, Eurofound will continue to monitor and analyse how the EU’s labour market structure is changing, looking at patterns related to employment status, workers’ demographic characteristics, and net job creation and job loss by sector and occupation, particularly in light of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. Analysis will draw on data from the European Jobs Monitor (EJM), European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) and Eurostat and the work will involve an update to the EJM and ERM databases.
New research in 2023 will investigate regional employment shifts between metropolitan and rural areas resulting from the increased incidence of working from home during the pandemic and following the expected long-term trend towards more teleworking and hybrid working. Exploring data between 2019 and 2022, the research will build on existing expertise from the EJM regional analyses and the Eurofound/Joint Research Centre analysis on ‘teleworkable’ jobs and also aims to provide comparisons between countries.
Another research strand will explore the sustainability of COVID-19 support measures beyond the peak of the pandemic and their effects on mitigating the medium-term consequences of the economic and labour market crisis. Drawing on the analysis of measures collected in the EU PolicyWatch database, this research aims to derive policy lessons regarding effective instruments for future crises with a focus on short-time work schemes.
To complement earlier research on mapping the incidence of labour shortages and assessing policies to address shortages, Eurofound will look into company/organisation practices tackling labour shortages related to the green and digital transition and in sectors particularly affected by COVID-19, such as healthcare and ICT. Some case studies will look specifically at how Ukrainian migrants have been integrated into the labour market.
- Data: European Jobs Monitor
- Database: ERM restructuring events
- Database: EU PolicyWatch
The sections below provide access to a range of publications, data and ongoing work on this topic.
Read less- Publications (1752)
- Data
- Ongoing work (6)
Publications
Eurofound publications come in a variety of formats, including reports, policy briefs, blogs, articles and presentations.
Where are the shortages, where are the workers? The drivers behind labour shortages in Europe and how to tackle them
Event 29 March 2023Building resilience after COVID-19: EU measures to protect jobs and promote skills
Article 21 febrúar 2023European Employment and Social Rights Forum - The social dimension of the green transition
Event 16 nóvember 2022Living and working in Europe in an era of disruption: Gendered impacts, challenges and opportunities
Event 24 október 2022Data
Related data on this topic are linked below.
- Data: COVID-19: Implications for employment and working life data
- Data: Restructuring events database
- Data: Restructuring support instruments database
- Data: Restructuring-related legislation database
- Data: Restructuring case studies database
- DATA: European Jobs Monitor
- Database: EU PolicyWatch
- Data: European Company Survey - Data visualisation
Ongoing work
Research continues in this topic on a variety of themes, which are outlined below with links to forthcoming titles.
MEMBER OF THE NETWORK OF EU AGENCIES
Eurofound is an agency of the European Union