Topics: Employment issues

  • Austria notes highest decrease of working hours and sharp decrease in trust in national government during COVID-19

    Weekly working hours in Austria decreased by 2.6 hours at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (quarter 2 2020) as compared to the same time of the previous year. This was the largest decrease in the EU and far beyond the EU average of -0.9 hours, as reported by a joint Eurofound and European Commission report (What just happened? COVID-19 lockdowns and change in the labour market), which describes

  • Workers on temporary contracts bore brunt of COVID-19 job loss

    Temporary workers, particularly those in non-teleworkable occupations such as services and sales jobs, elementary occupations and blue-collar occupations, were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 job loss in Europe, accounting for three-quarters of net job loss in the EU in 2020.

  • COVID-19 triggered important changes in working time, but overall trends appear the same

    Despite economic restrictions significantly reducing working time in a number of sectors in Europe, overall trends do not fully reflect this due to the polarisation of working time in different sectors; with some workers left with little to do due to restrictions, and others facing burnout due to long working hours and arduous demands.

  • Pessimism gap in Spain among the largest of EU

    While 57% of respondents in Spain are pessimistic about the future of their country, only 7% expect their personal life to get worse in the next 12 months. This pessimism gap, which relates to the contrast between societal and personal perceptions of the future, of 50 percentage points in Spain is among the largest of the EU27. The European average equals 34 percentage points, however, the variati

  • Young people, women face long-term mental health effects due to COVID-19

    Mental well-being indicators for young people and women have decreased disproportionately across the EU between summer 2020 and spring 2021, against a background of overall decline in mental health well-being across the EU. The long term effects of this for society and the economy are of serious concern. This is according to Eurofound’s large-scale Living, working and COVID-19 online survey.
    T

  • COVID-19 one year on: A changed Europe

    The outbreak of COVID-19 in Europe may be moving gradually into history, but the long-term impacts of the pandemic on our work and lives is just beginning.

  • Future of Europe in the spotlight in discussions between Eurofound and Irish Government

    Eurofound’s Directorate met with Thomas Byrne T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for EU Affairs, in Dublin today to discuss the evolving role of the Agency in producing timely and relevant research on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment, the labour market and quality of life, as well as its strategic position as the only EU agency based in Ireland.

  • Teleworkers twice as likely to exceed 48-hour working time limit

    The shift to telework during the pandemic, and increased demand for more hybrid working arrangements in the future, is putting the spotlight on whether existing labour legislation is fit for purpose in post-pandemic Europe, according to Eurofound’s new report Right to disconnect: Exploring company practices.

  • Eurofound: Looking forward to post-pandemic Europe

    As Europe moves to the final stages of its initial vaccination programme, workers are now returning to offices and other places of work, and citizens in general are reengaging into the community. Eurofound will be releasing important new research this autumn investigating how COVID-19 has impacted our lives and what these changes mean for Europe.

  • 92% of Slovakian companies report difficulties in recruiting adequately skilled employees, amid high youth unemployment

    More than 9 out of 10 establishments with 10 or more employees in Slovakia report difficulties in finding suitable candidates for open positions, according to a recent Eurofound report on ‘Tackling labour shortages in EU Member States’. This is the highest proportion in the EU, followed by Romania (90%) and Malta (88%), while rates are lowest in Denmark and Greece (both 57%).

  • Belgium records relatively low number of job losses during COVID-19 pandemic

    In spring 2021, around 5% of people in Belgium, who had been employed before the pandemic, reported having lost their job. Compared to the EU average of 10%, Belgium fares comparatively well, with only neighbouring Luxembourg and the Netherlands reporting lower figures, according to Eurofound’s large-scale Living, working and COVID-19 online survey.

  • French vaccine hesitancy rates among highest in EU

    Fewer than 50% of people in France are likely to take the COVID-19 vaccination, according to Eurofound’s large-scale Living, working and COVID-19 online survey. In February and March 2021, just 48.7% replied that they were likely or very likely to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus when it becomes available to them. This is considerably lower than the EU average at 64.4%.

  • Mental health in Slovenia above EU average during COVID-19 pandemic

    ​Slovenians have fared comparatively well in terms of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to their EU counterparts standing at 53.2 on a scale of 100, behind only Denmark and Finland. According to Eurofound’s large-scale Living, w​orking and COVID-19 online survey, the EU average was 45.3 in spring 2021.

  • Almost three quarter of people in Croatia are struggling financially during COVID-19 pandemic, but minimum wage increases slightly

    ​74% of people in Croatia report difficulties making ends meet, according to Eurofound’s large-scale ​Living, working and COVID-19 online survey​. This is the highest figure among EU Member States, where the average was 45.1%. For Croatia, this number remained consistently high throughout the pandemic at 73.5% in April 2020 reporting a difficult personal financial situation.

  • Financial situation in Luxembourg improving following COVID-19 pandemic

    The financial situation of people in Luxembourg is significantly better than the EU average with 11.3% of respondents reporting difficulties in making ends meet in February and March 2021, according to Eurofound’s large-scale Living, working and COVID-19 online survey. This is the third lowest figure among EU Member States with the EU average at 23.6%, just behind Denmark and Sweden.

  • Gender pay transparency: Advancing the cause through a truly European proposal

    With its proposed directive on gender pay transparency, the European Commission has significantly bolstered the set of tools for delivering its objectives compared to those presented in its 2014 Recommendation. The proposed portfolio of measures addresses many shortcomings of the instruments that national authorities currently employ.

Show more
Enter your email address to follow Eurofound

When you choose to create a user account and follow a newsroom your personal data will be used by us and the owner of the newsroom, for you to receive news and updates according to your subscription settings.

To learn more about this, please read our Privacy Policy, which applies to our use of your personal data, and our Privacy Policy for Contacts, which applies to the use of your personal data by the owner of the newsroom you follow.

Please note that our Terms of Use apply to all use of our services.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by unsubscribing or deleting your account.
Check your inbox

Email sent to __email__. Click the link there to follow Eurofound.

Okay