Job creation
Job creation refers to the process of providing new jobs, especially for people who were previously unemployed or inactive. Job creation is a key priority for EU social and employment policy.
Topic
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Eurofound research
Research carries out research on employment and changing labour markets, restructuring and job creation in the EU Member States. The investigation of factors supporting or inhibiting job creation also requires access to company-level information. Eurofound has conducted four editions of its European Company Survey (ECS) since 2003, providing comparative evidence on company practices and their link to innovation and job creation.
Jobs monitor
Eurofound’s European Jobs Monitor (EJM) looks in detail at recent shifts in employment at Member State and aggregate EU levels, covering cases of job creation and job loss by occupation and sector.
Restructuring monitor
The European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) has recently explored the case of SMEs, meaning companies with fewer than 250 employees, as a source of job creation. It found that SMEs are likely to have contributed to improved employment levels and increasingly gain attention as a source of job creation in Europe. However, due to the large scale of the SME population, there is considerable heterogeneity among them, and not all are equally dynamic job creators.
Born globals
‘Born global’ enterprises – young companies with an international mindset – are also dynamic in job creation, despite their low share among enterprises. Eurofound research has looked at the potential of job creation in these new international businesses. It characterises born globals and outline their main strengths and weaknesses, as well as economic and labour market potential.
Sector focus
A study on the creation of more and better jobs in home-care services highlights the persistent labour shortages in the health and social care sector. It analyses initiatives that were successful in either creating more jobs in the sector, or improving the quality of its jobs, with the dual aim of attracting new recruits and retaining existing staff.
As part of a pilot project on the future of manufacturing in Europe from 2015 to 2018, Eurofound gathered information on the reshoring of manufacturing and other value-chain activities to the EU and the resulting job gains.
- European Reshoring Monitor – identifies cases of firms relocating manufacturing activities to Europe
Key outputs
7 October 2019
Publication
Research report
12 June 2019
Publication
Research report
28 February 2019
Publication
Research report
7 January 2013
Publication
Research report
EU context
The European Commission’s Investment Plan for Europe adopted in November 2014 focuses on creating jobs and boosting growth by making smarter use of financial resources, removing obstacles to investment and providing visibility and technical assistance to investment projects. Building on this, the InvestEU Programme 2021–2027 will further boost investment, innovation and job creation by making EU funding simpler to access and more effective.
Research shows that the strongest recent structural employment growth was recorded in the health and care sectors and in information and communication technologies. Both sectors have strong potential for continued job creation, along with green jobs, as highlighted in the Commission’s 2012 ‘Employment package’.
The Commission has recognised the contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to economic development and labour markets in the EU, and it supports SMEs through a variety of policies and instruments. In 2016, the European Parliament issued a resolution on how best to support the job creation potential of SMEs.
- European Commission: InvestEU
- European Commission: Employment package 2012
- European Parliament: Resolution on how best to harness the job creation potential of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
Eurofound’s work on job creation links in with the Commission’s 2019–2024 priority on an economy that works for people.
- About Eurofound: EU priorities: Working for a strong social Europe
- European Commission: An economy that works for people
European Industrial Relations Dictionary
Eurofound expert(s)
Senior research manager,
Publications results (110)
Online resources results (45)
Blogs results (6)
Data results (3)
