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Inclusive labour markets

Well-functioning labour markets are a prerequisite for making full use of the job creation potential of the economy as it emerges from the financial and economic crisis. The crisis had very different labour market consequences across the EU Member States, and some groups such as young people and those with low education were particularly hard hit. The rapid ongoing structural change also presents new challenges as regards possible labour shortages and skills mismatches in various sectors and regions.

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    This report investigates the social groups whose attachment to the labour market may be unstable and who are most likely to have non-standard working arrangements, and the implications of such...

    29 August 2023
    Publication
    Research report
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    In responding to Russia’s war against Ukraine, the EU activated its Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) for people who fled the country, allowing them to settle in the EU and to...

    14 June 2023
    Publication
    Eurofound research paper

    Eurofound research

    Eurofound’s research aims to deepen understanding of the dynamics of labour markets across Europe, while informing policy to improve their functioning. Given the persistently high unemployment levels in some Member States, policies to support the reintegration of unemployed people into the labour market and those geared towards specific groups – young people, migrants, women or older unemployed – are of particular interest. Eurofound has produced a large body of work in this area, focusing in recent years on youth issues, gender and work, new forms of employment, mobility and migration, as well as wages.

    Youth employment and entrepreneurship

    Eurofound has explored the employment and social challenges faced by young people. Studies have examined issues around social inclusion and the need to take account of the diversity of vulnerable young people when developing policies to support them. It has also looked at youth entrepreneurship and the types of measures that have been effective in supporting it.

    Gender and the labour market

    Another research strand has highlighted the economic and social costs of the gender employment gap and assessed the effectiveness of policy measures promoting the labour market participation of women.

    New forms of employment

    An ongoing research strand examines new forms of employment that are different from traditional standard or non-standard employment and looks at their implications for working conditions and labour markets. Initial research into the typology was followed up with in-depth reviews of specific new forms of employment such as strategic employee sharing and ICT-based mobile work.

    Migration and mobility of labour

    Research on mobility has provided an up-to-date picture on the movement of labour within Europe and the effect of economic crises on migration

    Labour market transitions

    Eurofound has also conducted in-depth analyses of various issues related to labour market transitions, including job tenure, temporary employment and transitions of young people from education into employment.

    Key outputs

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    Employment statistics consistently show that having a foreign background has an influence on people’s employment prospects. Less is known about the types of jobs workers with foreign backgrounds hold and...

    27 November 2019
    Publication
    Policy brief

    EU context

    The EU’s main tool for promoting employment and social inclusion is the European Social Fund – helping people to get a job, integrating disadvantaged people into society and ensuring fairer life opportunities for all. There is also wide-ranging European legislation that regulates the rights of workers in the labour market. Moreover, in April 2017, the European Commission launched the European Pillar of Social Rights. The Pillar builds on, and complements, EU social and employment policy in order to guide policies in a number of fields essential for well-functioning and fair labour markets and welfare systems.

     

    Eurofound’s work on well-functioning and inclusive labour markets links in with the Commission’s 2019–2024 priority on promoting our European way of life. 

    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
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    Carlos Vacas Soriano is a research manager in the Employment unit at Eurofound. He works on topics related to wage and income inequalities, minimum wages, low pay, job quality...

    Research manager,
    Employment research unit
    Publications results (37)

    Labour market slack is the shortfall between the volume of work desired by workers and the actual volume of work available. The most important indicator of labour slack is the unemployment rate, but an exclusive focus on this fails to take account of the four-fifths of the jobless population who are

    18 July 2017

    This study investigates employment and occupational mobility in Europe before and after the 2008 financial crisis, with the aim of linking individual-level employment transitions to the broad labour market developments during the crisis, such as the surge in unemployment and the phenomenon of job

    04 July 2017

    This report addresses growing concerns about income inequalities in academic and policy debates by offering a comprehensive study of income inequalities during the years of the Great Recession starting in 2008–2009 (income data relating to 2004–2013). It has the twofold objective of adopting an EU

    13 March 2017

    New information and communications technologies have revolutionised work and life in the 21st century. The constant connectivity enabled by these devices allows work to be performed at any time and from almost anywhere. This joint report by the ILO and Eurofound synthesises the findings of national

    15 February 2017

    Reducing labour taxes or offering incentives to hire new workers could motivate employers to either retain staff who might otherwise have been let go or to create new jobs. Since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, both types of measure have been deployed in many EU Member States.

    30 January 2017

    Low-wage jobs have been a focus of debate in six countries across Europe during 2016. However, the issues discussed have reflected differing national concerns. For some countries, the key issue is the integration of migrants into the labour market; for others, how to stimulate job creation and

    23 December 2016

    This report expands on existing research on the labour market integration of refugees and asylum seekers as a response to the refugee crisis. It updates information on legislation and practical arrangements in the first half of 2016, examines labour market integration in the broader context of

    14 December 2016

    Although standard employment is still dominant in European labour markets, an increasing range of new employment forms is emerging that differ in their implications for working conditions. This study explores strategic employee sharing, an employment form for companies that have specific HR needs

    21 November 2016

    Women’s labour market participation in the European Union has increased over recent decades, passing 70% in 2014. In that year, women comprised almost 46% of the active EU labour market population.

    11 October 2016

    The concept of NEET (young people not in employment, education or training) has, since 2010, been widely used as a tool to inform youth-oriented policies in the 28 Member States of the European Union. While it has been a valuable addition to more traditional indicators used to understand the

    04 July 2016

    Online resources results (4)

    Slovakia: latest working life developments Q2 2018

    An increase in wage supplements, easier access for people from countries outside the EU to join the Slovak labour market and new legislation for social enterprises are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Slovakia in

    Czech Republic: Latest working life developments – Q2 2017

    Continued growth in the Czech economy, staff shortages in the social services sector, the tightening of agency employment rules and legislative measures to regulate Uber are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in the

    Finland: HR managers regard diversity as strength for workplaces

    The Diversity Barometer 2016, a survey-based study by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, explores the perceptions and attitudes of human resources professionals to diversity in Finnish workplaces. It finds that the key aspects of diversity are age and age-related issues, language and

    Italy: New solidarity contracts boost inter-generational staff turnover

    The aim of the 2016 Stability Law is to create stable permanent work for younger, less experienced workers while ensuring that the skills and experience of the older generation are not lost, and that shorter working hours or reduced social contributions do not erode entitlement to welfare benefits

    Blogs results (13)
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    An ageing Europe and rising public expenditure on long-term care have signalled for some time that the fundamentals of care provision need to be addressed. However, the shocking death toll in care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that many long-term care services were ill-equipped to

    2 December 2020
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    COVID-19 unleashed the pent-up potential for telework. Over a third of respondents to Eurofound’s online survey of Europeans in April had started teleworking because of the pandemic. Never before had so many people been working from home. For people with disabilities, telework has long been viewed

    17 August 2020
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    Much of the discussion on the future of work is focused on globalisation and technology, and their impacts on the labour market. However, there is also a growing interest in the business models used by cooperatives and social enterprises, and how they can contribute to a better future of work

    15 November 2019
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    Imagine you’re at work and something happens: you have to leave to visit a client, you have to go home to let in the plumber, or you have to collect the kids from school as the football training has just been cancelled. If you’re lucky, your employer gives you the flexibility to do this. If you’re

    14 May 2019
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    In this blog, originally posted in Social Europe, Massimiliano Mascherini looks at the enduring issue of long-term unemployment among young people. Despite considerable improvement in the labour market participation of youth in recent years, the legacy of the crisis is still visible in the

    17 April 2018
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    The integration of migrants from outside the EU into society is one of the key challenges that the Union must address to maintain social cohesion and equality. This blog piece looks at how well migrants and their descendants have integrated into the labour markets of EU Member States.

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    The Great Recession had lasting effects on European labour markets, both in terms of employment levels and structure. Not only did employment rates drop significantly – taking years to return to pre-crisis levels, with some countries not fully recovered yet – but the crisis also accelerated

    3 August 2017
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    The refugee crisis has posed significant challenges for Europe – we have not seen such a large-scale migration of people since the Second World War. The exodus from war-torn regions initially posed a humanitarian challenge for frontline countries such as Greece and Italy. However, the longer term

    20 June 2017
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    EU-wide income inequality declined notably prior to 2008, driven by a strong process of income convergence between European countries. The Great Recession broke this trend. After 2008, income convergence has been sluggish, while inequality within many countries has increased significantly.

    21 March 2017

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