The new episode of Eurofound Talks, published on International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, looks in-depth at Europe’s wealth divide. Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound researchers Carlos Vacas and Eszter Sandor about how wealth inequality remains as intractable as ever – despite positive developments in recent years on wages and improvements in general working conditions.
Eurofound’s new report Structural change in EU labour markets: A generation of employment shifts details a dramatic rebalancing of employment away from traditional industries towards a burgeoning service economy.
Housing policy has emerged as a critical factor in shaping household prosperity in a new report from Eurofound which confirms persistent wealth inequality across the EU. Based on data from 2010 to 2021, the fresh analysis reveals that wealth distribution is more unevenly distributed than income, highlighting the disproportionate control of assets by a small portion of the population.
Europe’s workers value safety, trust, and well-being above pay, according to the first findings of the flagship 2024 pan-European Working Conditions Survey. New findings reveal an overall upward trend in job quality but also expose a workforce grappling with new and persistent health challenges and divergent attitudes to the technological change.
Results from Eurofound’s pan-European flagship survey reveal significant improvements in job quality over the past decade but highlight stark inequalities between women and men, as well as radically different situations for workers in different parts of Europe.
Despite upwards wage trends, minimum wage earners face significant financial pressure from housing costs. Eurofound analysis shows that minimum wage earners spend an average of 34.8% of their disposable income on housing, compared to 26.2% for higher earners.
A new Eurofound report reveals encouraging progress in reducing child poverty and boosting early childhood education and care (ECEC) participation across Europe. However, the report strongly emphasises that the sustained well-being of children hinges on urgent improvements to the working conditions and training of the professionals delivering these essential services.
Eurofound has launched a public procurement procedure for the establishment of a new Network of Eurofound Correspondents. This network serves as a crucial mechanism for gathering timely and relevant national-level information and analysis.
Eurofound's new report, 'Narrowing the digital divide: Economic and social convergence in Europe’s digital transformation', warns that while Europe is making significant digital strides, vulnerable groups risk being left behind if inequalities in terms of resources and access are not addressed.
The latest Eurofound Talks podcast episode delves into the evolution of working conditions over the past three decades, as Europe stands at the precipice of an AI-driven revolution in its labour markets.
New research shows that national minimum wage increases are effectively boosting the pay of low-paid workers while preserving the crucial role of collective bargaining processes.
In this episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast series, host Mary McCaughey sits down with Eurofound expert Carlos Vacas Soriano to explore how minimum wages have changed in Europe over the past year, as well as the implications of these shifts.
How can Europe adapt to an ageing workforce? What impediments do older workers face at the workplace? How are changing technologies and job quality influencing the retention of older workers on the labour market? A new episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast series sets out to answer these questions in the context of changing demographics in Europe and the need to make work more sustainable.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the European Training Foundation (ETF), and Eurofound are joining forces on 3 April in Tirana for a high-level event focused on promoting effective social dialogue and collaboration in the Western Balkans.
With Europe’s old-age dependency ratio projected to increase to 52% in 2050, supporting older workers to stay in the workforce for longer is now an economic necessity, according to new research from the EU’s social and employment agency.
Eurofound, in partnership with the European Institute for Gender Equality, has published a special episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast for International Women’s Day. The episode looks at women’s progress in the labour market and society over the past five decades, as well as sticking points on the path to gender equality in Europe, particularly related to the gender employment and pay gaps.
Eurofound analysis of the gender employment gap in the EU shows that its cost - when considering foregone earnings and missed welfare contributions of individuals to society, as well as the public finance cost - was estimated to be over €390 billion in 2023, corresponding to 2.3% of the EU’s GDP.
A new episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast series looks at data from the Living and working in the EU e-survey showing a decline in the number of respondents engaged in remote work, with the percentage of people working entirely from the workplace increasing from 36% in 2023, to 41% in 2024.
In this episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Deputy Director Maria Jepsen, and Barry Colfer, Director of Research at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), about European social change over the past 50 years, Eurofound’s role in these changes, how Ireland itself has developed and changed, and the challenges currently on the horizon.
The 22 EU Member States with a national minimum wage have announced their decisions on increases for 2025, except for Spain. Developments bring good news for workers on the minimum wage, who will see their wages increase substantially, beyond current inflation in most countries.
