One in five jobs in the EU classified as vulnerable
Close to one in five jobs in the EU (19%) could be classified as vulnerable – a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing income inadequacy, employment insecurity and lack of workplace rights.
Topics: Social conditions
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Eurofound Talks: Are Europeans prepared for climate change?
Increasing regional disparities, a growing affordability crisis, and a lack of agency for renters are leaving a significant portion of the European population dangerously exposed to climate change, as highlighted in the latest episode of Eurofound Talks.
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New technologies reshaping work, not destroying jobs
Technology is more likely to create new tasks than remove existing ones, according to new findings from the unique pan-European Working Conditions Survey. Rather than widespread destruction, the primary challenges facing the EU workforce as digitalisation transforms the European labour market, are shifting towards skills mismatches, generational divides, and worker autonomy.
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Good news on job quality for expanding European workforce - but survey highlights deep gender, generational and sectoral divides
The new European Working Conditions Survey 2024 Overview report shows that job quality in Europe is improving, with long working hours and physically arduous working conditions on the decline. The share of employees working more than 48 hours per week has fallen since 2005. However, inequalities at the workplace persist, with women experiencing a deteriorating social environment at work.
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International Women's Day 2026: Is work in Europe more stressful for women?
At VoxBox Studios in the European Parliament, MEP Maria Walsh and Eurofound’s Barbara Gerstenberger mark International Women’s Day by analyzing gender equality data from 36,000 workers across 35 countries. They discuss the shift from industrial labor to modern challenges like burnout and technostress.
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Wellbeing and social cohesion falter in Europe despite economic progress
As policymakers, social partners and civil society prepare for the European Employment and Social Rights Forum in Brussels next week, a new episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast looks at latest results from Eurofound’s eighth Living and Working in the EU e-survey, and the actions that could be taken to respond to the social challenges that it highlights.
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How bad is Europe's youth housing crisis?
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.
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Overheated and underprepared: European survey finds citizens concerned about heat and ability to cope with climate change
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.
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New survey shows Europeans face mounting financial strain, housing insecurity as institutional trust wavers
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.
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Over 80% of median wage required to rent two-room apartment in Bulgaria, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain
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.
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Can Europe’s social model drive competitiveness? Leaders debate in Dublin as Eurofound marks 50 years
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.
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'Don’t use AI for the sake of AI’: Eurofound and EU-OSHA call for a human-centred approach to AI deployment
The new episode of Eurofound Talks, published today, looks at whether AI is making work safer in Europe. The discussion takes the listener from the macro-level geopolitical considerations around AI, to how it is impacting workers on an everyday basis throughout Europe, and is essential listening for those interested in, or working on the topic.
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Housing crisis strikes further blow to Europe's deepening wealth inequality
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.
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Is Europe’s mental health still in crisis?
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.
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Ireland increases mental health provision amidst growing social and economic challenges
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.
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New study finds suicide is now the leading cause of death for young people in Europe
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.
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Almost half EU population now provide unpaid care
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.
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Strengthening social dialogue for better work and life in the Western Balkans
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.
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Eurofound Talks: 50 years of social change in Ireland and Europe
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.
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Life satisfaction and optimism on the decline across the EU, according to new survey
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.
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