This graph presents the various factors that impact an individual’s trust in institutions. It shows that the biggest positive factor is the perceived quality of public services, education also plays a strong role with higher levels of education resulting in higher levels of trust. The biggest negative factor on trust in institutions is the level of perceived societal tensions.

The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) is an established tool for monitoring and analysing quality of life in the EU. Carried out in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2016, the EQLS documents the living conditions and social situation of European citizens. It includes subjective and objective measures: reported attitudes and preferences, as well as resources and experiences. Eurofound’s approach recognises that ‘quality of life’ is a broad concept and encompasses individual well-being as well as the quality of public services and quality of society. The current report provides an overview of multiple dimensions: it examines subjective well-being, standard of living and aspects of deprivation, care responsibilities and work–life balance; healthcare, long-term care, childcare and other public services; and social insecurity, social exclusion and societal tensions, trust, and participation and community engagement. The report covers the 28 EU Member States.

With people living longer, the need for affordable care of high quality to support Europe’s population increases. Over the last ten years there has been an expansion of the private sector in terms of the number of care homes and the places they provide. This increase takes place in a context of decrease or very slow growth in the services provided in public care homes. This report examines services in the public and private sectors, how they differ in the services they provide in terms of the quality, accessibility and efficiency of services. As private provision increases, costs to users are likely to become a more significant barrier issue unless there is an increase in public benefits to subsidise use. There are also some differences in the location of different types of care homes, with private care homes more likely to be found in affluent urban areas. Differences in the types of residents are influenced by the profitability of the services they require.

To achieve the Europe 2020 targets on employment and poverty, it is important that policies focus not only on those who are unemployed but also on those who are economically inactive. People are economically inactive, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) definition, if they are not working, not seeking work and/or not available for work.