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Statement on the referendum of the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union

Statement on the referendum of the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union

Following the result of the United Kingdom referendum on EU membership, Eurofound will continue to implement its work programme and provide European policymakers with high-quality, timely and policy-relevant knowledge as input to better informed social and work-related policies, covering up to 35 countries (EU Member States, candidate countries and other European countries).
To repeat the reass

Factors influencing the job-creation potential of SMEs

Factors influencing the job-creation potential of SMEs

The figure above, derived from Eurofound’s recent report on Job creation in SMEs, illustrates the bundle of factors that determine whether an SME will create jobs – some relating to the company itself (internal) and others relating to the economic and institutional environment in which it operates (external). 
Several of the elements are interrelated or have an influence on each other. The stre

​Cooperation with EU Fundamental Rights Agency

​Cooperation with EU Fundamental Rights Agency

Newly appointed Director at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), Michael O’Flaherty, visited Eurofound for the first time on 27 May. 
A meeting with Eurofound’s Deputy Director, Erika Mezger, and other Agency staff included an open exchange on the activities of the network of EU Agencies and discussion on the work of the cluster grouping of Justice and Home Affairs Agencies. 

​New European Platform to tackle undeclared work

​New European Platform to tackle undeclared work

Fairness in the European labour market was the vision evoked by Commissioner Thyssen in her opening speech at the launch of the European Platform to tackle undeclared work on 27 May.
Aimed at enhancing cooperation in tackling undeclared work, the new European Platform was set up by the European Commission, together with Member States and stakeholders. 
Eurofound has observer status in the P

​Slow but steady return to employment growth

​Slow but steady return to employment growth

Europe has begun to emerge from its prolonged economic slump: in 2014–2015, for instance, over four million new jobs were created in the EU28. Eurofound’s fifth annual European Jobs Monitor report looks at changes in net employment between Q2 2011 and Q2 2015, at Member State level and in the EU overall. 
It uses a ‘jobs-based’ approach to describe employment shifts quantitatively (how many job

​Studying the impact of digitalisation on work

​Studying the impact of digitalisation on work

A 2014 study from think-tank Bruegel estimates that over the next 20 years, more than 50% of the EU workforce will have their job partly replaced through automation. Advances in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and mobile robotics are likely to affect low-wage, low-skill sectors that have traditionally been immune from this high-tech automation.
This is the context of change against w

Living and Working in Europe 2015

​A year in the life of Europe

The Eurofound yearbook 2015: Living and working in Europe has just been published, highlighting research into pivotal social and employment issues in Europe, in a year when Eurofound celebrated the 40th anniversary of its establishment.
The yearbook describes 12 months of divergent trends in the work and lives of people in Europe. Working conditions of those at work have not, on the whole, been

What do Europeans do at work? A task-based analysis: European Jobs Monitor 2016

What do Europeans do at work? A task-based analysis: European Jobs Monitor 2016

Europe has begun to emerge from the prolonged slump caused by the global financial crisis in 2008 and exacerbated by the euro zone single-currency crisis in 2010–2011. In 2014–2015, aggregate employment levels rose faster than at any time since 2008: over four million new jobs were created in the EU28. The fifth annual European Jobs Monitor report looks at employment shifts in the European Union.

Regional industrial policy after a large manufacturing plant closure

Regional industrial policy after a large manufacturing plant closure

Regional industrial policy after a large manufacturing plant closure
How can a region recover and redevelop when hit by the closure of a big local employer?What can we learn from the experiences of other regions facing similar problems in Europe?What happened in the Trollhättan region after the SAAB closure – the biggest bankruptcy in Swedish industrial history?
These and other related qu

Role of social partners in preventing trafficking of labour

Role of social partners in preventing trafficking of labour

The figure on the left – from Eurofound’s report Regulation of labour market intermediaries and the role of social partners in preventing trafficking of labour – illustrates how breaches in labour rights can potentially culminate in trafficking for forced labour. In some cases, labour market intermediaries recruit or transfer workers unlawfully, deceiving workers about the nature of the job, the e

Improving the working life of LGBT people in Europe

Improving the working life of LGBT people in Europe

A new EurWORK topical update aims to provide an insight into the views of gay,lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals in the workplace. Based on information from Eurofound’s network of European correspondents, the report shows that discrimination is widespread, with many employees hiding their sexual identity in order to avoid discrimination in the workplace. While governments, social

What future for manufacturing in the EU?

What future for manufacturing in the EU?

Economic and labour market developments since 2008 have highlighted the importance of manufacturing for economies in the internet-driven era of globalisation. Eurofound’s pilot project on the future of manufacturing aims to examine the implications for employment across Europe. Developed at the instigation of the European Parliament and delegated to Eurofound by the European Commission (DG GROW),

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Eurofound, a tripartite European Union Agency, provides knowledge to assist in the development of social, employment and work-related policies

Eurofound (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions) is a tripartite EU body, whose mission is to provide knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies.

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