The generational housing crisis is the focus of the most recent episode of Eurofound Talks, as Mary McCaughey sits down with Marie Hyland, a lead author of the newly released report, Foundational challenges: The housing struggles of Europe’s youth.
Europeans are very concerned about extreme heat and other impacts of climate change like wildfires according to the results of a Europe-wide survey published today. It found that many citizens were also underprepared to deal with the increasing frequency and magnitude of heatwaves, flooding, or water shortages in their own homes.
Increasing economic divergence and a profound sense of precariousness permeate the European Union today, according to new results from Eurofound’s eighth Living and Working in the EU e-survey.
In an era where public trust is paramount, the latest episode of the Eurofound Talks looks at the mechanisms that keep the European Union transparent and fiscally responsible. Host Mary McCaughey sits down with Tony Murphy, President of the European Court of Auditors (ECA), to discuss the critical role of financial oversight in safeguarding the European project.
Young adults are disproportionately affected by soaring prices and rents, with average EU sale prices and rents increasing by 55.4% and 26.7% respectively since 2010, often far outpacing income growth. These averages mask even more severe problems in certain Member States, in larger cities and for younger cohorts according to Eurofound’s new report.
Is Europe’s traditional social model the key to its competitiveness? This question will take centre stage in Dublin on 19-20 November as political leaders, policymakers, social partners and civil society gather for Eurofound’s 8th Foundation Forum, marking its 50th anniversary.
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.
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.
In the latest episode of Eurofound Talks, published today for World Suicide Prevention Day, Mary McCaughey speaks with Senior Research Manager Hans Dubois about concerning trends highlighted in Eurofound’s new report, Mental health: Risk groups, trends, services and policies.
Problematical social media use affects a quarter of young girls in Ireland, economic pressures impact the mental health of 32% of the population, and 17% of those in rural areas report a lack of services mental health.
The long-term decline in suicide death rates across the EU has stalled, marking an alarming reflection of poor mental health in Europe. Suicide accounted for 18.9% of deaths among 15–29-year-olds in 2021, ahead of traffic collisions (16.5%). Eurofound analysis also reveals that in 2021, poor mental health resulted in 11.1 million years of life lost or lived with disability.
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.
45% of the population are now engaged in unpaid care across the EU with one in ten managing multiple caregiving roles. This vital, often unrecognised, informal care — predominantly provided by women and individuals aged 35-44 within families — is set to soar over the next two decades.
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.
Respondents that participated in Eurofound’s 2024 e-survey were less optimistic about their future than those that took part in 2023, with the degree of optimism across all age groups falling considerably since 2020. The sharpest drop in optimism occurred among respondents in the 35–49 and 50–64 age groups, who reported the lowest levels of optimism in 2024.
Despite expectations that remote work or hybrid work would become a long-term norm following the pandemic, findings from Eurofound’s 2024 e-survey indicate a decline in remote work since 2023.
30% of respondents to Eurofound’s 2024 Living and working in the EU survey reported difficulties making ends meet, ranging from 17% in Luxembourg to 55% in Greece. 10% of respondents missed rent or mortgage payments, and 15% reported arrears in utility bills – both figures reflecting increases from the previous year.
