The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the European Training Foundation (ETF), and Eurofound are joining forces on 3 April in Tirana for a high-level event focused on promoting effective social dialogue and collaboration in the Western Balkans.
Michael Healy-Rae TD, Minister of State for Forestry, Horticulture and Farm Safety, planted signature native Irish tree species at Eurofound today to mark the Agency’s 50th anniversary, as well as continue efforts from National Tree Week to highlight the vital role of Ireland’s trees, forests, and woodlands in building a greener, more sustainable future.
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In a new episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound researchers Agnès Parent-Thirion, Tina Weber, and Jorge Cabrita about the extent to which climate change is already influencing working conditions and the labour market in Europe, the role of the green transition, and how policy can help protect workers and safeguard workplaces.
Around two-thirds of unemployed people in the EU do not receive benefits, often because their employment records are shorter than required, or their benefits have run out.
Workplace cyberbullying or ‘digital harassment’ is only explicitly covered in regulatory frameworks in Denmark in the EU, with other Member States either attempting to extend legal definitions to include misconduct occurring through information and communication technologies (ICTs) or outside of the physical workplace; or lacking any definition of workplace bullying or harassment in law.
In a new episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Research Manager Carlos Vacas about the situation of the middle class in Europe. Together, they explore a more nuanced picture to the one that is commonly expressed; different patterns are emerging across European regions, for instance between the Member States that joined the EU after 2004 and older Member States.
Human capital - defined as the knowledge, skills and other attributes that enable people to be productive - played a role in EU convergence in respect of national income over 2014–2021. Specifically, highly educated individuals have helped central and eastern EU Member States and regions to catch up with their western counterparts in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.
Job retention schemes, one of the main policy tools used during the COVID-19 pandemic to safeguard jobs and protect incomes, saved 26.9 million jobs in the EU in 2020 and 2021.The schemes also reduced inequality by 0.15 percentage points, and lowered the at-risk-of-poverty rate by 0.5 percentage points.
Urban and capital areas have disproportionately benefitted from the digital revolution in Europe, with a high rate of knowledge and service-based jobs. By comparison, many rural areas risk being left behind, with unbalanced urban economic dominance further deepening urban-rural divides.
The lack of a single agreed definition of ‘just transition’ by the different interest groups participating in the EU Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs) is hampering stakeholder involvement and progress on the issue.
Prolonged labour shortages in the EU affect growth, innovation and the bloc’s ability to achieve its digital and green targets, as around 80% of EU employers struggle to recruit workers with the right skills. Currently, the skills of one in three employees in the EU are mismatched with their job, with 17% overqualified and 13% underqualified.
