Ahrendt, Daphne

People with disabilities are among the most disadvantaged groups in the EU. This policy brief examines the social situation of people of working age with disabilities, using data from the 2011 and 2016 rounds of the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS). The brief looks at changes over this period in employment, education and training, participation in society, social protection and healthcare, all priority areas of the European Disability Strategy.

Nearly 37,000 people in 33 European countries (28 EU Member States and 5 candidate countries) were interviewed in the last quarter of 2016 for the fourth wave of the European Quality of Life Survey. This overview report presents the finding...

In-work poverty increased during the economic and financial crisis that hit European shores in 2008. By 2014, ten per cent of European workers were at risk of poverty, up from eight per cent in 2007. Ten per cent is a significant figure: the working poor represent a substantial group that can’t be ignored. Just as disconcerting is the finding that 13 per cent of European workers are materially deprived. This latter measure helps to capture the impact of the crisis on people’s real living conditions.

The ‘working poor’ are a substantial group, the latest estimate putting 10% of European workers at risk of poverty, up from 8% in 2007. This report describes the development of in-work poverty in the EU since the crisis of 2008, picking up where an earlier Eurofound report on this subject, published in 2010, ended and looks at what countries have done to combat the problem since.

EU citizens are increasingly concerned that today’s young people will have fewer opportunities for upward social mobility than their parents’ generation. This report maps patterns of intergenerational social mobility in the EU countries. It first looks at absolute social mobility – how societies have changed in terms of structural and occupational change and societal progress. Then it turns to relative social mobility (‘social fluidity’) – the opportunities for individuals to move between occupational classes. The story of recent social mobility is explored using data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and findings from Eurofound’s Network of European correspondents across the EU Member States.

This report aims to improve understanding of the true cost of inadequate housing to EU Member States and to suggest policy initiatives that might help address its social and financial consequences.

Austerity measures introduced during the crisis have disproportionately concerned cuts in the measures that are most vital for reducing child poverty: cash and tax benefits, a new Eurofound report shows. Furthermore, there has been a move away from universal coverage towards more targeted support. Of course, it makes good sense for governments to target spending on the most deprived families in a period of austerity. But at some point the pendulum can swing the wrong way and families that, under the principle of universality, were eligible for support may lose out, putting more families at risk of poverty than before.

Access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) services and the quality of such services are important issues that are gaining greater prominence in the EU. This study presents evidence on the elements of working conditions and in-service training that increase the quality of ECEC.

The economic crisis has reshaped the lives of millions of European citizens. But how has it affected families with children? Children are more at risk of poverty or social exclusion than the overall population in a large majority of EU countries; hence, it is important to understand how the crisis has affected the households in which these children grow up. This report describes the changing quality of life across the EU for different types of families with children and compares their living standards and social situation. Grouping the EU Member States into four categories on the basis of the flexibility or otherwise of their family policies, it also examines potential patterns that may be related to different family policy approaches. Themes that emerge from the findings include the particular challenges facing lone parents, the greater difficulties facing jobless families since the onset of the crisis, and the increasing extent of conflict parents experience in seeking to balance their work and family lives.

The aim of this working paper is to provide information about the working conditions and in-service training opportunities of early childhood education and care (ECEC) workers and to describe how these factors are linked to outcomes for children. This paper is part of the research project ‘Assessing childcare services’ being carried out by Eurofound in 2013 and 2014. The project focuses on the two dimensions of early childhood education and care that have been the main focus of policy initiatives at European level: ensuring that services are accessible and that they are of good quality.