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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)

Impact of the April Agreements on job security in Spain

The Spanish trade unions and employers' organisations which signed the important labour market reform agreements in April 1997 (the "April agreements") have carried out a review of their results over the first six months, which was published in January 1998. The social partners agree in general that

Redundancy agreement signed at Italian State Railways

In December 1997, the Italian State Railways signed an agreement with transport workers' trade unions on the management of redundancies. The agreement provides for the creation of a fund to deal with redundant staff by means of "mobility" procedures, the Wages Guarantee Fund, job-security agreements

Employment policy debate focuses on working time

A November 1997 orientation debate on employment policy in Luxembourg's Chamber of Deputies has prompted several motions. The most important of these urges the Government to work towards an agreement between the social partners that contains both the outlines of a framework law on working time and

Unions set agendas for collective bargaining in 1998

Spain's UGT and CC.OO trade union confederations want to put employment at the top of their collective bargaining agenda in 1998. Job creation and promoting secure employment are the main demands.

Clash over 35-hour week in Greece

In December 1996, a committee consisting of experts from Greek trade unions and employers' organisations was set up to discuss the effects of reducing working time to 35 hours a week. However, on completion of its task in October 1997, it had become clear that the differences between the two sides

Employment Summit: Belgium demands quantifiable employment objectives

The Luxembourg Presidency of the European Union organised a special Employment Summit [1] European Council meeting on 20-21 November 1997 (EU9711168F [2]). In order to prepare for the event, the Belgian Government and social partners organised a conference aimed at formulating the point of view of

Employment and social policy in the 1998 Budget

The Spanish Government has presented an austere Budget for 1998 aimed at achieving the economic convergence required by the Maastricht Treaty. The trade unions and employers' organisations have reacted to the proposals with some criticisms regarding employment and social policy.

Special clauses and new trends in collective bargaining in Spain

There has been an increase in the number of Spanish collective agreements with "special clauses" as a result of the labour reforms of 1994 and 1997, according to reports on bargaining published in late 1997. The latest topics covered by these clauses are functional and geographical mobility

Working time reduction to create more jobs in Greek banking

The employers' organisation and trade unions in the Greek banking sector recently carried out a joint study to examine the potential effects of reducing working time to 35 hours a week. Although the two sides agree that employment will increase by 4%, there are still disagreements over the

Unions reopen debate on submerged employment in Spain

Trade union observations on the Government's Employment Plan, issued in September 1997, and an official survey by the Centre for Sociological Research have reopened the debate on "submerged" or "informal" employment in Spain, this time with respect to employment and labour relations. Whereas 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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