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Topics: Social conditions

  • Europe sees slow growth in face of economic and social challenges

    Eurofound has published its yearbook for 2015. The report shows that employment in Europe is on a slow growth trajectory after a long period of job loss and economic stagnation, but quality of life has slipped for many Europeans, and poverty is a threat for millions. Download the report: http://bit.ly/LWE2015

  • Misure a sostegno delle start-up giovanili: dall’implementazione alla valutazione

    Cliccare qui per ascoltare la ricercatrice Sara Riso introdurre il nuovo rapporto 
    Il nuovo rapporto di Eurofound ‘misure a sostegno delle start-up giovanili: dall’implementazione alla valutazione’ offre una mappatura della varietà delle misure agevolative a favore delle start-up giovanili e rivisita in modo critico i risultati che emergono da valutazioni di tali interventi volte a stabilire la

  • Evidence-based youth entrepreneurship policies

    There is no shortage of start-up support measures for young people in the EU. However, a new report from Eurofound warns policymakers that the failure to conduct more robust policy impact evaluations carries the risk of delivering ineffective interventions and wasting public money. 
    The report, Start-up support for young people in the EU: From implementation to evaluation, points to many shortf

  • Annual meeting of Eurofound’s correspondents

    A key element of Eurofound’s work is the research conducted at national level by its network of European correspondents, operating in all 28 EU Member States and in Norway. The work of these correspondents supports Eurofound’s research activities – in particular, the work of its observatories: the European Observatory of Working Life (EurWORK) and the European Monitoring Centre on Change (EMCC). <

  • Wage boost for low-paid workers in UK and Ireland

    ​A national living wage came into force in the UK on 1 April, meaning that employers are now required to pay employees aged 25 and over at least GBP 7.20 (€9.02) an hour.

  • Looking ahead to the next four-year programme

    Eurofound’s Programming Document 2017–2020, adopted by the Agency’s Governing Board, will set the template for all of its activities over the next four years.

  • Preventing trafficking of labour in Europe

    New data on the highly topical issue of preventing trafficking of labour will be presented to MEPs at a working lunch in Brussels on 27 April, with the launch of a new report from Eurofound.

  • The importance of collective bargaining in establishing working time in Europe

    In this blog piece Eurofound Research Officer Jorge Cabrita looks at the key role of collective bargaining in establishing EU working time standards. This blog is a re-post from Social Europe, to view the original click here. 
    Nowadays we all know that long or excessive working hours may have serious negative impacts on a person’s health and wellbeing. Eurofound‘s new report “Working time devel

  • New challenges could disrupt working time stability in Europe

    (Dublin, Ireland): Working time has remained relatively stable in the 21st century but socio-demographic challenges and the ubiquitous nature of new technologies may see significant changes in working time in the near future, according to a new report from Eurofound, the EU Agency based in Dublin. Working time developments in the 21st century reveals, for the first time, the development of worki

  • The rise of temporary contracts in Europe

    More than 1 in 10 employees in the EU are employed on temporary contracts, but a majority of them would prefer a permanent contract. Temporary contracts help employers to manage their labour demand, but there are downsides for employees, such as job insecurity and lower pay.
    Temporary employment has been rising across many European countries for at least three decades. This is largely the resul

  • New Article: Statutory minimum wages in the EU 2016

    Eurofound has published a new article on the statutory minimum wage levels in Europe. This article provides an overview of the minimum wage rates as of 1 January 2016, explains how they were set, and presents relevant discussions on minimum wages at national level.

  • The Case For Universal Support For European Families

    In this blog piece Daphne Ahrendt, Research Manager at Eurofound, analyses the new Families in the Economic Crisis report. She explains how the shift towards means tested support in Europe could be cutting off vital resources for struggling families.

  • Many European families still at risk of poverty, despite economic growth

    Despite a return to economic growth, lone-parent families and large families with three or more dependent children face significant difficulties throughout Europe. In some countries more than eight out of ten lone-parent families are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

  • Addressing the employment and social consequences of mobility and migration

    Eurofound has been doing extensive work on the issues of mobility and migration. This blog gives a brief overview of the different aspects of EU mobile workers, posted workers and third-country migration, as well as a preview of our upcoming research.
    Free movement in the EU
    All citizens of EU Member States are entitled to live, work and study in another Member State. The right to free movem

  • Working time clashes with work–life balance for many workers

    ​Despite increasing sophistication of work organisation and the development of ICT tools with the aim of making the workplace more efficient, long working time continues to be a fact of life for many workers, according to the last findings on working conditions in Europe from Eurofound. To download the report go to http://bit.ly/Resume6EWCS.

  • Eurofound puts spotlight on drivers of job creation in SMEs

    Despite the ongoing focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by policymakers and academics little is known of the underlying drivers of successful job creation in SMEs. In an effort to close this knowledge gap, Eurofound carried out comprehensive research looking at SMEs across the EU28. These are the first findings, the full report will be available early in 2016.

  • Developments in working life annual review shows a Europe in flux

    The Developments in Working Life in Europe 2014 annual review, which is part of a series of annual reviews published by Eurofound, shows that Europe is undergoing significant changes in terms of its economy, industrial relations and working conditions. Although progress is being made in all three areas, the enduring economic crisis has made this progress both fragile and unequal.

  • Stronger focus on social inclusion key to future of Europe’s young people

    Eurofound’s new report 'Social inclusion of young people' gives an in-depth analysis of early Youth Guarantee implementation and reviews policies for social inclusion and participation in several Member States, and provides recommendations as to how to improve the levels of social inclusion of young people across the European Union.

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