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Europe is experiencing a crisis of unaffordable housing: since 2010, average sale prices in the EU have risen by 55.4 % and rents by 26.7 %. For many households, incomes simply haven’t kept pace, widening the affordability gap year after year. 📉 As Eurofound Research Officer Marie Hyland highlights, the severity of this crisis varies across regions and hits certain age groups (especially young people) much harder than others. From delayed independence to limited mobility and constrained opportunities, the ripple effects of the housing crisis are affecting the lives of many across Europe.

50 years in 50 facts With 2025 coming to an end, we pause to reflect on what our findings tell us about how work is evolving across the EU, as the green and digital transitions continue to reshape skills, jobs, and working lives. 🌱 Achieving climate neutrality by 2050 will require far‑reaching changes in energy systems, industrial processes and consumption patterns. 💻 At the same time, rapid advances in digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), are reshaping work, redefining skill needs, and transforming how people interact, communicate and access information. #Eurofound50 - - - Our ‘50 years in 50 facts’ series comes to an end today, but our work doesn’t stop here. In 2026, we’ll continue sharing insights from our research. Until then, Happy New Year! 😉🥂

50 years in 50 facts 🚗🚌 The EU’s automotive manufacturing sector employs 421,000 more people today than in 2010. Employment reached its peak in 2019, but has since fallen by around 7%, with the sharpest declines in Germany, followed by France, Belgium and Italy. However, the European Retructuring Monitor shows how countries such as Bulgaria, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain have recently recorded employment growth, driven by the large enterprises of the sector. For companies experiencing negative impacts, EU policy can provide support through funding for upskilling and reskilling. A promising initiative in this area is the pilot of the new European Skills Guarantee. #Eurofound50

50 years in 50 facts Although the construction sector plays a critical role in delivering green transition targets and addressing housing shortages across the EU, employment in the sector fell by 230,000 between 2010 and 2023, with workforce levels fluctuating in line with economic trends. However, labour shortages exceed the EU average and around 7 million job openings are expected by 2035 in the context of an ageing and highly male-dominated workforce. Read more: https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/all/building-on-growth-potential-preparing-the-construction-sector-for-the-twin-transitions #Eurofound50

50 years in 50 facts ✈️ Between 2010 and 2019, the EU tourism sector added 1.6 million jobs, with 1.1 million in food services, 411,600 in accommodation, 93,600 in travel agencies, and 12,600 in air transport. 🍽️ During 2019–2023, food services continued to grow (+248,000 jobs), while travel agencies (−128,000), accommodation (−108,000), and air transport (−43,000) all registered significant losses. Read more: https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/all/sustainable-tourism-in-a-digital-age-preparing-the-tourism-sector-for-the-twin-transitions #Eurofound50

'𝐼𝑛 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝐸𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑’𝑠 𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑙 𝑚𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐸𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑛𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑.' Michael McGrath, EU commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protections

📣 Our final #EurofoundTalks of 2025 has just been published! What future for green jobs in Europe? 🎙️ In the new episode, experts from Eurofound and the European Environment Agency detail the strategy required for a competitive and just green transition. The path forward demands: 📌 Rigorous monitoring of job quality 📌 Guaranteed targeted support for all affected workers 📌 Expanded involvement and participation through social dialogue Investment in the transition is non-negotiable, but it must be tied to social conditionalities to ensure high-quality job creation. 🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your preferred streaming platform. #EUGreenDeal #CircularEconomy #ClimateAction #GreenTech #RenewableEnergy

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