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Structural change

Technological drivers for change are interacting closely with other underlying long-term drivers of change, such as demographic shifts, globalisation and environmental challenges. They are profoundly and irreversibly reshaping many aspects of the European economy, society and the world of work. The White paper on the future of Europe maps out the drivers of change in the next decade and presents a range of scenarios for how Europe could evolve by 2025.

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Eurofound expert(s)

John Hurley

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
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Martina Bisello

​Martina Bisello is a research manager in the Employment unit at Eurofound. Her research interests include gender gaps in the labour market, occupational change and the impact of...

Research manager,
Employment research unit
Publications results (86)

Employment - the worst is still to come?

In the current recession, GDP in the 15 ‘old’ Member States declined by around 5% in the year up to the first quarter of 2009. While the average decline was slightly less in the new Member States, some Member States experienced a sharper than average decline – Germany, Ireland and the Baltic States

03 November 2009
Publication
Information sheet
Structural change
Employment and labour markets

United we stand? Social partners and recession

Social partnership has been credited with contributing to much of Europe’s economic success; can it, however, continue to deliver in a time of economic downturn? It would appear that social partners are seeking to play an active role in responding positively to the crisis.

03 November 2009
Publication
Information sheet
Structural change
Employment and labour markets

Measures at European level

Originating in failed speculative property investments, the recession quickly became a global event, spreading to all countries and sectors. While the speed and the extent of its onset differed across the Member States, the need for a common approach has been recognised by all. The basis for the

03 November 2009
Publication
Information sheet
Structural change
Employment and labour markets

Saving jobs at all costs – company strategies

While the current crisis has led to massive job loss across the EU, there is evidence to indicate that companies are trying hard to maintain staffing levels until the economic situation recovers. To this end, employers have generally introduced a number of interrelated approaches rather than just

03 November 2009
Publication
Information sheet
Employment structure
Structural change
Restructuring
Employment and labour markets
Employment and labour markets

Global recession: Europe’s way out - Background paper

The 2009 Foundation Forum, Global recession: Europe’s way out, will discuss and attempt to develop policy perspectives on how to emerge from the current recession while maintaining living and working conditions in Europe. This background paper provides some explanation of how the economy entered

01 November 2009
Publication
Research report
Structural change
Employment and labour markets

Tackling the recession: Employment-related public initiatives in the EU Member States and Norway

As European economies slide into recession, companies face increasing financial difficulties as sales decline and prospects for a quick recovery recede. Consequently, a growing number of businesses are coming under threat, putting the jobs of more workers at risk. Already across Europe many

08 October 2009
Publication
Research report
Restructuring
Structural change
Employment structure
Labour market policies
Job creation
Employment and labour markets
Online resources results (6)

Cyprus: latest working life developments Q2 2018

An agreement to restore wider public sector salaries and mass redundancies at CCB bank are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Cyprus in the second quarter of 2018.

6 september 2018
Article
Agreements
Collective bargaining
Pay and income
Structural change

Greece: The third memorandum’s plans for public administration

The third Memorandum of Understanding for Greece came into force from January 2016, which sets out measures that the government will have to implement before the end of 2018. These include tax policy reform, a more sustainable pension system, and improved management of health sector finances.

30 maj 2016
Article
Pay and income
Structural change
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Greece: Report on economy and employment criticises current economic policy

A report by the Labour Institute of the GSEE trade union confederation argues that the economic policy implemented to tackle the economic crisis is incompatible with the Greek economic development model and has, as a result, brought high unemployment, disinvestment, social disintegration and

18 februari 2016
Article
Pay and income
Structural change
Collective bargaining
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Portugal: High and rising emigration in a context of high, but decreasing, unemployment

Emigration is at its highest since 1973 due to high unemployment, job insecurity and deteriorating working conditions. Recent data indicate that an increasing proportion of emigrants are highly qualified, stoking concerns of a 'brain drain'. Meanwhile, official statistics show a drop in unemployment

15 februari 2016
Article
Structural change
Migration and mobility
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Working conditions and sustainable work

Finland: Working Life Barometer 2013

The Finnish Working Life Barometer is a survey of working conditions from the perspective of employees, conducted annually by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy since 1992. The focus of this article is the 2013 Barometer. It offers a summary of the main findings and an overview of the

24 april 2015
Article
Working time
Job quality
Skills and training
Structural change
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Belgium: Effects of the economic crisis on wage indexation

Belgium is one of a small number of countries to use a wage indexation system linking wage rises to the cost of living. However, the recent economic crisis has highlighted problems with the system and the government has even introduced legislation to veto 'cost of living' wage increases as part of

18 februari 2015
Article
Pay and income
Structural change
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Blogs results (3)
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Europe’s quiet revolution is under way

As Europe braces for a winter wave of the Coronavirus, behind the public health indicators that rightly dominate the headlines, a revolution in working life is under way. In early spring, millions of people throughout Europe took their work home and tried to rapidly adjust to the new world in which

12 november 2020
James Higgins
Blog
COVID-19
Platform work
Structural change
Digitalisation
Teleworking
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
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Europe’s low-carbon transition makes economic sense

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 februari 2020
James Higgins
Blog
Employment and labour markets
European Green Deal
Industrial policy
Job creation
Just transition
Labour market policies
Structural change
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Europe’s shrinking middle class

The Great Recession depressed real income levels across European countries. But the impact was very unequal across countries and income groups. Countries in the European periphery have been more affected than those in the core, halting the process of income convergence between European countries

23 juni 2017
Carlos Vacas‑Soriano
Blog
Pay and income
Structural change
Employment structure
Inequality
Living conditions
Employment and labour markets

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