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Topics: Social conditions

  • Eurofound welcomes European Year of Youth 2022

    Eurofound welcomes European Year of Youth 2022 #EYY2022. The situation of young people in the EU has long been an important focus for Eurofound’s work. Eurofound remains committed to continuing its work to provide policymakers with the most timely, relevant and reliable data and research to address the challenges facing young people.

  • Se relever de cette pandémie passe par un nouvel espoir pour l’avenir

    Après les mesures immédiatement prises pour faire face à la crise, les problèmes anciens, qui avaient étaient relégués au second plan parce que le contrôle de la propagation du virus était primordial, refont surface et doivent être abordés. La situation précaire des jeunes en Europe figure au premier rang de ces défis.

  • Changes in the world of work to the fore of discussions between Eurofound and Irish social partners, ICTU and IBEC

    Eurofound’s management met with Irish social partners, Patricia King, General Secretary, ICTU and Danny McCoy, Chief Executive Officer, Ibec, at Eurofound in Dublin, on Wednesday, 15 December 2021, to discuss some of the Agency’s most recent research findings on changes in workplace practices, work organisation, hybrid working, gender, labour market dynamics and the role of collective bargaining.

  • Digitalisation rewards may see rise in labour market inequalities

    Digitalisation, such as the automation of tasks, digitisation of processes, and coordination through platforms is transforming the way in which people in Europe work. Many workers and businesses stand to gain from these ongoing changes, but some will lose out – potentially heightening labour market inequalities.

  • Eurofound and European Commission further cooperation on youth policy

    Eurofound Executive Director Ivailo Kalfin met with Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth in Brussels this week to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on young people in the EU, as well as the forthcoming European Year of Youth 2022.

  • Finland has highest teleworking rate in the EU before and during the pandemic

    Almost one in four workers (22.4%) in Finland usually worked from home during 2020, according to new analyses published in Eurofound’s recent research report What just happened? COVID-19 lockdowns and change in the labour market. This is the highest proportion across the EU, where the average is 10.8%. All Member States reported an increase of teleworking during 2020, but the largest increases (in

  • Romania keeps youth unemployment below EU average

    In 2020, the youth unemployment ratio in Romania was 5.5%, while the EU27 average stood at 7.1%. This ratio, which notes number of unemployed young people as a proportion of the total population of that age group, increased in almost all EU Member States between 2019 and 2020. In Romania, specifically, the figure rose from 4.8%, while the EU average increased from 6.5%.
    This data was recently

  • High levels of optimism about future among young people in Latvia

    Despite the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people in the EU, Latvia has managed to retain a comparatively high level of optimism among its younger population, with 70% of people aged 18-29 in the country optimistic about their future. This is the second highest optimism score in the EU during spring 2021, only behind Malta, while the EU27’s average is 49% of young peopl

  • Poland records longest annual working hours in the EU in 2020

    Employees in Poland are working 1,848 hours per year, the highest annual working hours figure (alongside Hungary) across the EU. The shortest hours are found in Germany (1,574 hours), France (1,610 hours) and Denmark (1,635 hours). These figures are part of Eurofound’s Working time in 2019–2020 report, which documents the most relevant changes in working time regulation after the onset of the COVI

  • COVID-19 brought Europe’s youth recovery to abrupt end

    COVID-19 ended a six-year decline in youth unemployment, with young people more likely to find themselves unemployed and to report poor mental health than the rest of the population. Young people were hit particularly hard both economically and socially with the pandemic striking Europe as youth unemployment was returning to pre-economic crisis levels for the first time. Economic and well-being ou

  • Decrease of working hours and trust in national government marking COVID-19 impact in Czechia

    In quarter four of 2020, weekly working hours in Czechia decreased by 2.8 hours, marking the largest decrease in the EU in a year-on-year comparison with the same period of 2019 and followed by Austria (-1.8 hours per week). The EU’s average for the end-of-year quarter lies at -0.5 hours. This data was recently published in a joint Eurofound and European Commission report (What just happened? COVI

  • Österreich verzeichnet die höchste Arbeitszeitverkürzung und einen starken Vertrauensverlust in die nationale Regierung während COVID-19

    Die wöchentliche Arbeitszeit in Österreich hat sich zu Beginn der COVID-19 Pandemie (2. Quartal 2020) im Vergleich zum Vorjahreszeitraum um 2,6 Stunden verringert. Dies war der größte Rückgang in der EU und liegt über dem EU-Durchschnitt von -0,9 Stunden, wie aus einem gemeinsamen Bericht von Eurofound und der Europäischen Kommission hervorgeht (Was ist gerade passiert? COVID-19-Sperren und Veränd

  • 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

  • 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.

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