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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 Maijs 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)

According to representatives of the company interviewed for this case study, there has been a greater willingness to recruit people aged 50 or more during the economic cycle of the past two to three years, but this is cyclical. Typically, when demand for labour increases in a positive economic cycle

22 January 2012

The worldwide banking system is at the heart of the greatest economic crisis for at least 70 years. The crisis has strongly affected a sector that had already experienced significant changes in the preceding 30 years. Structural changes in the world economy, caused by globalisation processes and

08 January 2012

On 30 June 2011, a seminar on Youth and Employment was hosted by the Employment and Social Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, and jointly organised by four European agencies: Cedefop, ETF, EU-OSHA and Eurofound. The agencies highlighted the complementarity of their work by each presenting

14 November 2011

While there has been some recovery since the depths of the Great Recession in 2009, both output and employment levels remain lower than they were pre-crisis in the EU-27. Indeed, the severity of the recession has been such that output has yet to return to 2007 levels in each of the largest Member

19 October 2011

Financial activities are at the origin of the current global crisis but have also been affected by the economic downturn. This report analyses the impact of the financial crisis on the banking sector in the following countries: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Hungary, Sweden, Estonia

18 July 2011

Local employment initiatives involving the cooperation of various public and private stakeholders are the focus of this study. The report examines how such local partnerships have been and are being used across the EU and Norway to prevent or counteract the effects of the economic crisis on labour

27 February 2011

This report examines whether investment funds – in particular, private equity, hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds – help to revive underperforming companies and thereby contribute to employment growth or whether, on the contrary, they strive to maximise financial returns at the expense of labour

17 January 2011

This report examines whether investment funds – in particular, private equity, hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds – help to revive underperforming companies and thereby contribute to employment growth or whether, on the contrary, they strive to maximise financial returns at the expense of labour

17 January 2011

The reduction of working time has played a major role in lessening the impact of lowered production output on employment levels, and this project aims to investigate short-time working and temporary layoff schemes which have been used as a means of avoiding redundancies by many Member States during

25 November 2010

The reduction of working time has played a major role in lessening the impact of lowered production output on employment levels, and this project aims to investigate short-time working and temporary layoff schemes which have been used as a means of avoiding redundancies by many Member States during

25 November 2010

Online resources results (199)

Building the European social dialogue in construction

The European construction sector generates some 26 million jobs directly and indirectly, representing 20% of the total workforce in the European Union. This employment is broken down as follows: 9.6 million direct jobs; 2.5 million direct jobs in the building materials and product sector; and 14.3

The National Minimum Wage: Report of the Low Pay Commission

One of the key commitments of the Labour Government which came to power in May 1997 (UK9704125F [1]) is the introduction of a National Minimum Wage (NMW). The Low Pay Commission (LPC) was appointed in July 1997 (UK9711177F [2]) to recommend the level of the NMW, and it published its report in June

Bill on regulation of labour relations

In June 1998, the Greek Minister of Labour and Social Security announced a bill on the "regulation of labour relations and other provisions", which seeks to regulate various aspects of industrial relations, both in the private and public sector.

Labour market reform facing stiff opposition

In the search for a remedy for Finland's long-running mass unemployment, in mid-1998 the opposition Centre Party proposed a labour market reform with its ideological roots in the UK Labour Party. Trade unions are trying to resist the reform at an early stage, fearing that it will undermine the

Government unveils proposals for a fairer workplace

On 21 May 1998, the Government published a white paper entitled Fairness at work [1] setting out its legislative agenda in the area of industrial relations. As well as giving details of the Government's proposed statutory trade union recognition procedure, the white paper outlines a range of other

Mergers in banking cause serious concerns about employment

The banking sector in Belgium is going through a period of serious turbulence and structural change in the late 1990s, to which several factors have contributed. First, banks are positioning themselves in the increasingly internationalised market for financial services. Second, the further financial

Initial assessment of the 1997 labour reform

Over a year after April 1997's major reform of the labour market in Spain, the Government and employers believe that progress is being made towards creating employment. The trade unions, on the other hand, stress what they see as the inadequacies of the reform and the continuing insecurity of

Spain draws up National Action Plan for employment without union backing

The Spanish government, in drawing up its National Action Plan for employment in response to the EU employment guidelines, for submission to the June 1998 Cardiff summit, has given priority to active employment policies supported by training and local activity. However, the trade unions have

Considerable employment growth achieved in Norway

Norway has experienced favourable employment statistics over the last few years. Newly published figures from Statistics Norway show that there has been a further fall in unemployment, and the employment rate is higher than ever. Norway is not a member of the European Union, and is thus not bound by

Ireland set to introduce a national minimum wage in 2000

The long-awaited report of Ireland's National Minimum Wage Commission, published in April 1998, is set to herald the introduction of a national minimum wage of around IEP 4.40 per hour. The target date set by the Commission is 1 April 2000, a date which would deliberately coincide with 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 Marts 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 Decembris 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 Jūlijs 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 Jūnijs 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 Februāris 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 Maijs 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 Februāris 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 Oktobris 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 Novembris 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 Novembris 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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