Empleo y mercados laborales

Mensajes políticos clave

Las principales conclusiones de la investigación de Eurofound sirven de referencia para que los responsables políticos aborden algunas de las cuestiones clave en este ámbito.

• Antes de que se produjera el impacto económico de la crisis de la COVID-19, la recuperación del mercado laboral de Europa estaba acercando la tasa de empleo de la UE al objetivo del 75 % fijado en la Estrategia EU 2020. Si bien se trata de una crisis única en cuanto a su naturaleza específica, las enseñanzas de crisis anteriores han demostrado que mantener el vínculo de los trabajadores con el mercado laboral y, si es posible, mejorar la capacitación, son instrumentos importantes para garantizar una rápida recuperación.
• El crecimiento del empleo ha sido sistemáticamente más débil en los trabajos de remuneración media —sobre todo durante las recesiones— y siempre más fuerte en los trabajos bien remunerados.
• La estabilidad de los niveles de trabajo atípico oculta un aumento del trabajo precario para determinados grupos, con un número creciente de trabajadores con «otros» contratos o sin contrato alguno. La pandemia de COVID-19 también pone de manifiesto la difícil situación de estos trabajadores, a los que más ha perjudicado la crisis y que corren el riesgo de verse gravemente afectados a largo plazo.
• El incremento de los diferentes tipos de trabajo atípico está provocando divisiones más profundas en los mercados laborales de la UE entre los trabajadores que cuentan con una buena protección y aquellos con un acceso limitado a la protección social y los derechos laborales, lo que contribuye a aumentar la segmentación del mercado laboral.Este es el caso, en particular, del número creciente de personas con un empleo «atípico compuesto» (que reúne una combinación de estados laborales atípicos, por ejemplo, temporal y a tiempo parcial, por cuenta propia y a tiempo parcial).
• El actual aumento del empleo precario requerirá soluciones políticas para apoyar a los trabajadores con un acceso limitado a la protección social y a la representación. Esto es aún más pertinente en el contexto del impacto emergente de la pandemia de COVID-19, que plantea riesgos existenciales concretos para numerosos trabajadores precarios y autónomos.

During 2021–2024, Eurofound’s research will provide important insights into the challenges and prospects in the area of employment and labour markets in the EU. Eurofound has an important role to play in monitoring trends in the labour market, as well as monitoring the impact of these trends for different groups of workers.

Research will focus overall on the changing structure of the labour market using Eurofound’s well established monitoring instruments, the European Jobs Monitor (EJM) and the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM), alongside Eurostat data. With high levels of unemployment expected in some countries, regions, sectors and occupations, affecting also the most precarious and vulnerable workers, these instruments will help identify growing and declining sectors, occupations and qualifications. The ERM will also continue to examine large-scale restructuring events, legislative and support instruments, as well as measures developed by social partners and public authorities to assist workers transitioning between jobs or sectors.

Eurofound will also focus on labour shortages and under-utilised human resources and talent in certain sectors and occupations – accentuated during COVID-19 – by exploring policy interventions and company practices. Specific topics will include skills mismatches, working time, geographical or occupational mobility, and the integration of migrants, as well as covering groups underrepresented in the labour market such as young people, women and people with disabilities. Eurofound will also look at sectors traditionally affected by labour shortages, the issue becoming more urgent due to the pandemic. This activity will feed into the preparatory work for the next edition of the European Company Survey (ECS).

Eurofound’s collaboration with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) will also continue in this area. Research on restructuring will contribute to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) and the European Social Fund+ (ESF+) activities. Links with sister agency Cedefop and the European Labour Authority will be explored as regards skills and labour mobility in the context of employment policies aimed at tackling labour shortages.

Eurofound’s research aims to assist policy action to provide knowledge to support structural change, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to help address the challenges facing the EU and national levels in the areas of employment and labour market structures.

Specifically, Eurofound collects data and analyses trends in employment and labour market developments, identifying and examining gaps and groups at risk, in order to provide the European Commission and other EU institutions, Member State bodies and social partners with the support needed to devise more effective employment policies.

The Agency’s work plan is aligned with the European Commission’s political guidelines 2021–2024, directly feeding into a number of key policy areas aimed at creating a strong social Europe. In particular, Eurofound’s research will support policy initiatives under the European Pillar of Social Rights in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis and activities linked to, among other initiatives, the European Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025, the reinforced Youth Guarantee, the Youth Employment Support package, the skills agenda, as well as innovation and job creation and the European Commission’s proposal for adequate minimum wages in the EU.

• European Commission: Priorities 2019–2024: An economy that works for people
• European Commission: Priorities 2019–2024: A Europe fit for the digital age
• European Commission: Priorities 2019–2024: A European Green Deal

In 2024, Eurofound continues to monitor and analyse how the EU’s labour market structure is changing, looking at patterns related to employment status, workers’ demographic characteristics, and net job creation and job loss by sector and occupation, particularly in light of the challenges triggered by COVID-19 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Analysis draws on data from the European Jobs Monitor (EJM), European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) and Eurostat and the work involves ongoing updates to the EJM and ERM databases. 

In 2024, Eurofound publishes the findings of research investigating employment shifts across EU regions, from the pandemic to the recovery. In particular, the research focuses on the gap between urban/capital and rural areas and on patterns of sectoral specialisation which made some regions more exposed or resilient than others. The research investigates the evolution of telework across European regions, including the observed differences in the take up of regional telework. This work builds on the EJM regional analyses and the previous Eurofound/Joint Research Centre analysis on teleworkable jobs.

Eurofound finalises its analysis of the impact of short-time work schemes on retaining employment and securing incomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. One output from this project is a comparative database of the support measures used in the Member States. The research aims to derive policy lessons regarding effective instruments for future crises. 

Complementing earlier research on mapping the incidence of labour shortages and assessing policies to address shortages, Eurofound concludes its analysis of company/organisational practices. Some case studies look specifically at how displaced people from Ukraine have been integrated into the labour market. 

New research in 2024 investigates shifts in the employment structure in the first quarter of the 21st century, examining the pace of change (technological, globalisation/trade-related, demographic) and its impacts on labour markets.

Research begins on measuring job differences in task requirements and their implications for mobility and employment reallocation across the economy. It aims to determine the magnitude and the nature of changes in job tasks following a job move.

Work also commences on exploring wage determinants in the EU, with a specific focus on gender gaps. This research aims to identify correlations between trends in educational attainment and wages by gender, as well as the determinants of any mismatch between wages and education levels by gender.

• Resource: European Jobs Monitor 
• Resource: Restructuring events database
• Database: EU PolicyWatch