Publications

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. Difficulty filling vacancies was thought to be among the key factors holding back growth, competitiveness and service delivery in a number of sectors prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite a temporary weakening in demand for labour during the pandemic, this was not the case in all sectors, with some seeing pre-existing shortages worsen.

Samtidigt som arbetslösheten fortfarande är en stor utmaning i Europa, råder det brist på arbetskraft i vissa länder, sektorer och yrken. I rapporten undersöks olika metoder för att identifiera arbetskraftsbrist och nationella politiska debatter i frågan kartläggs. Offentliga åtgärder och arbetsmarknadsparternas åtgärder för att hantera bristen på arbetskraft dokumenteras, exempelvis åtgärder som främjar geografisk eller yrkesmässig rörlighet, fokuserar på kompetensbrist och underinvestering i kompetens, förbättrar arbets- och anställningsvillkor samt ger bättre matchningar. 

Over the last decade, the EU has made slow progress towards gender equality. As achievements in gender equality vary considerably by Member State, it is important to understand the evolution of disparities between the Member States and the implications this has for upward economic and social convergence in the EU. Crucially, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis not only threatens to undo past achievements but may well result in increasing disparities between Member States.

Eurofound welcomed Ivailo Kalfin to his new role as Executive Director on 1 June. After one month in the job, he reflects on the challenges facing the EU, how they will impact on the work of Eurofound and his priorities for shaping the Agency over the next five years.

Med den europeiska gröna given har EU initierat en rad politiska beslut och åtgärder som siktar mot att förebygga och begränsa klimatförändringarnas effekter. Huvudmålet är att åstadkomma en omställning till en klimatneutral ekonomi. De klimatpolitiska åtgärderna är nödvändiga men kan medföra oönskade fördelningsmässiga effekter för enskilda individer och företag. Förutom de avsedda effekterna kan vissa åtgärder, till exempel koldioxidskatter, även ha regressiva effekter, som påverkar låginkomsttagare negativt och därmed minskar deras acceptans.

This report describes Eurofound's activities, particularly its research, information and communication programmes and policy achievements, in relation to the objectives set in the Work Programme 2020. It also covers the management and external evaluation control systems, key performance indicators, and financial and HR information.

The EU has long supported innovation in business and in workplaces. The challenges facing Europe as it emerges from the COVID-19 crisis make the need for innovation more urgent. The NextGenerationEU recovery package requires a reorientation of business activities towards innovation for resilience. Looking to the longer term, policies such as the European Industrial Strategy aim to support the transition to a green and digital economy.

As we leave behind the lockdowns and business disruptions of COVID-19 and enter a ‘new normal’, it is time to talk about how workplaces might be transformed to drive innovation. Some may baulk at this suggestion, as we continue to grapple with the pandemic fallout, but crises have always been a cradle for change, creating a space to reflect on the things that are not working and to find solutions to them. Innovation is critical now as Europe faces into the transition to a green and digital economy. Businesses will have to develop processes, products and business models that are compatible with a climate-neutral future. They will have to digitalise across their operations and outputs, and do so fast to stay abreast of the competition.

Vaccine acceptance is key to the success of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns worldwide. Worryingly, over a quarter of people living in Europe are hesitant about taking a COVID-19 vaccine, and the level of hesitancy is especially high among heavy users of social media. The spread of misinformation on social media is an obstacle to reaching the goal of herd immunity against the coronavirus. Strategies to communicate clear and unbiased political and scientific information are needed to counter the effect of misinformation.

COVID-19 has shown that some things can hit us out of the blue. The pandemic sent a shockwave through businesses all over the world and has brought massive changes to work organisation, internal communication and day-to-day operations for many companies. Doubtless, the depth of the pandemic’s impact on workplaces depended on many factors: the nature of the business, for instance, or the sector of activity. But are there any lessons to be learnt about the factors that helped some organisations to navigate through the crisis more smoothly than others?