European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
unemployment
Unemployed people [What Europe does for you]
Are you, or is someone close to you, one of the nearly 19 million Europeans who were unemployed in 2017? Whatever the reasons for losing your job – the economic crisis, a skills mismatch, lack of education or training – the EU is putting measures in place to fight unemployment. Continue reading
Amending social security coordination [EU Legislation in Progress]
Approximately 14 million EU residents (mobile workers, unemployed and economically inactive citizens) are not living in their home country. Continue reading
Public opinion and EU action on social protection: exploring the expectations gap
Written by Clare Ferguson, Following the financial crisis, fears for the levels of social protection for EU citizens in the areas of health and social security, employment, and equality were at the forefront of much of the debate leading up to the recent United Kingdom EU referendum. Published in the wake of the British vote … Continue reading
Snapshot of the EU regions with a view to selected Europe 2020 targets
Written by Frederik Scholaert, Giulio Sabbati and Sorina Silvia Ionescu, Updated on 4.10.2019 In 2014-2020, €461 billion from the EU budget is allocated to EU regions for investments in support of the strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (Europe 2020). The NUTS 2 classification (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) divides EU territory into … Continue reading
Measures to tackle youth unemployment, are they enough?
Written by Richard Freedman in cooperation with Marie Lecerf The figures are stark. More than 4.5 million young people (aged 15-24 years) are unemployed today in the EU. The EU youth unemployment rate is more than double the overall unemployment rate (20% compared with 9%) and masks big differences between countries: there is a gap … Continue reading
Work and social welfare for asylum-seekers and refugees: selected EU Member States
Written by Eva-Maria Poptcheva and Andrej Stuchlik (with contributions from Piotr Bakowski, Alexandra Gatto, Detelin Ivanov, Ingeborg Odink, and Irene Peñas Dendariena) The surge of asylum-seekers to the EU has increased steadily, and reached record highs in recent years and months. Asylum-seekers risk their lives on dangerous journeys to Europe, which often do not stop at … Continue reading
The minimum wage: A motor for growth or a brake on the economy?
Written by Cemal Karakas Setting minimum wages are a direct way for governments to influence wage levels. Even though they are one of the most analysed and debated topics in economics, their impact on (un-)employment, growth and poverty remains ambiguous. For some experts, the rise of minimum wages will lead to job losses, as it … Continue reading
Welfare systems and labour markets [What Think Tanks are thinking]
Written by Marcin Grajewski The welfare systems and labour markets of EU member states have been under severe stress during the recent recession which has seen high unemployment and increased poverty rates. In response, many countries have launched structural reforms in these areas in an attempt to promote economic growth and reduce the persistently high … Continue reading
Unemployment in the EU [What Think Tanks are thinking]
Written by Marcin Grajewski Unemployment in the euro zone and the whole European Union has been inching down for many months, adding to signs of economic recovery, but remains well above levels recorded before the start of the financial crisis in 2008. The seasonally-adjusted euro area unemployment rate was 11.1 percent in April 2015 down … Continue reading
Tackling long-term unemployment in the EU
Written by Verena Kern With the onset of the crisis, unemployment rates have increased sharply throughout Europe and the trend seemed set to continue. However in March 2015, the European Commission reported that, for the first time since 2009, the LTU rate fell slightly. Currently, long-term unemployment (LTU) stands at 4,9% for the EU. LTU … Continue reading
EU demographic indicators: Situation, trends and potential challenges
Written by Angelos Delivorias and Giulio Sabbati Europe’s share of the global population is declining and its population is ageing. Unemployment is still high, although rates vary between Member States, as well as within them. Women, young adults and older workers have a higher risk of unemployment, while the number of part-time workers is increasing. … Continue reading
Unemployment and Labour Market Support
Written by Eulalia Claros and Verena Kern Labour Market Supports are government interventions that provide financial assistance to individuals in difficult labour market circumstances: to compensate them for loss of wage or salary and to support them during job search, or to facilitate early retirement. Long-term unemployed are those who were registered as unemployed throughout … Continue reading
Common unemployment insurance scheme for the euro area : Cost of Non-Europe Report
The European Parliament has called for a “social dimension” to the Economic and Monetary Union to tackle unemployment and restore growth following the recent economic crisis. Among various alternative options, automatic stabilisers could potentially be means of stabilising the Eurozone, while at the same time addressing social problems associated with the financial crisis. This Cost … Continue reading
Youth unemployment in Europe
3 other language versions available in pdf: Jugendarbeitslosigkeit: Was unternimmt das Europäische Parlament? Quelles mesures le PE a-t-il prises contre le chômage des jeunes? Wat heeft het EP tegen de jeugdwerkloosheid gedaan? At present, more than 5.5 million people in Europe under the age of 25 are unemployed. Youth unemployment rates in Europe stood at … Continue reading
Une garantie européenne pour la jeunesse: Favoriser l’insertion sur le marché du travail
Avec plus d’un jeune européen sur cinq au chômage, l’Union européenne (UE) a fait de l’insertion de sa jeunesse une priorité. Pour venir en aide aux 15-24 ans en difficulté, la mise en place d’une “garantie pour la jeunesse” constitue un nouveau dispositif phare. Via ce dispositif entré en vigueur en 2014, les Etats membres … Continue reading
Austerity, labour market and international treaties. Cases of four EU countries in receipt of financial assistance
Due to the global financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis several European countries (in particular Greece, Ireland Portugal and Spain) were forced to ask for financial assistance. In return they had to commit to implement so-called austerity measures aimed at reducing their budget deficits. These countries also agreed to implement structural changes such as labour market reforms in order to improve their competitiveness. … Continue reading
Social dimension of austerity measures: Cases of four EU countries in receipt of financial assistance
The economic and financial crisis has been affecting the EU since 2008. The effects of growing budgetary deficits have included the increase in governments’ borrowing costs to unsustainable levels in Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain, forcing them to request financial assistance. In return, they committed themselves to reducing the deficits through spending cuts and increases … Continue reading
European Globalisation Adjustment Fund 2014-20
6 language versions available in PDF format Europäischer Fonds zur Anpassung an die Globalisierung 2014-2020 Fondo Europeo de Adaptación a la Globalización 2014-20 Le Fonds européen d’ajustement à la mondialisation pendant la période 2014-2020 Fondo europeo di adeguamento alla globalizzazione 2014-2020 Europejski Fundusz Dostosowania do Globalizacji (2014-20) European Globalisation Adjustment Fund 2014-20 Through its European … Continue reading
The new European Social Fund for 2014-20
The European Social Fund (ESF) is the EU’s main tool to support employment through investing in human capital. Two proposed Regulations for 2014-20 establish new ESF priorities and funding rules. During trilogue negotiations, compromise on several issues proved very difficult to reach. Common provisions – initial proposal The Common Provisions Regulation (CPR) is a general … Continue reading
Working in the EU – or maybe you’re not working?
Young people from all over Europe – represented by one employee and one unemployed person from each EU country – will come to the European Parliament in Brussels in early November. Agora 2013 will debate the European employment market and youth unemployment and make their recommendations to EU decision-makers. So, what are the main issues? … Continue reading
Download the EPRS App
