The average collectively agreed weekly working time in the European Union stood at 38.1 hours in 2013, according to Eurofound’s latest working time update. The combined total of agreed annual leave and public holidays in the EU varied from 40 days in Germany and France to 29 days in Belgium - a difference of more than two working weeks. The Working Time Developments in Europe 2013 report is out.
In cooperation with the Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Eurofound is organising a high-level conference Social Dialogue as a driver in shaping and improving employment and working conditions in the EU in Athens on Monday 23 June 2014. Keynote speakers include Nobel Price winner Sir Christopher Pissarides and Ioannis Vroutsis, Minister of Labour, Social Security and Welfare.
Nominal collectively agreed pay increases remained limited in the majority of EU Member States in 2013. However, because of lower inflation rates, employees in a number of European countries saw the purchasing power of their wages increase, reflecting a change from the post-crisis trend that had been observed since 2011. Eurofound’s annual update on pay is out.
Encouraging people to talk about their problems at work, especially psychosocial problems, is a key element in prevention strategies. Eurofound releases a new report that looks at industrial relations practices regarding health and safety strategies in the European steel sector by analysing company practices in ArcelorMittal (FR), Rautaruukki (FIN) and Salzgitter AG (DE).
The number of young people living at home with their parents across Europe has increased from 44% to 48% between 2007 and 2011, according to new research by Eurofound. The ‘Social situation of young people in Europe’, presented to policymakers in Dublin today, offer comparative insight across EU Member States of the social situation of youth in Europe and evolving trends.
The 'Pay in Europe in the 21st century' report provides comparative time series on wage-bargaining outcomes across the EU Member States and Norway. It also investigates the different systems and levels of minimum wages in Europe at present, evaluating the implications of a hypothetical scenario of a minimum wage set at 60% of the median national wage.
Recent months have seen an improvement in economic outlook but large-scale restructuring activity in the EU continues to result in greater announced job losses than job gains. The latest European Restructuring Monitor ERM quarterly is out, highlighting job loss and job creation activities and restructuring trends across the European Union.
The offshoring share of restructuring job loss in Europe peaked before the 2008–2009 crisis and has remained lower ever since, according to the 2013 annual report of the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) - Monitoring and managing restructuring in the 21st century. The report also presents a retrospective of over a decade of monitoring the impact of large-scale restructuring activity in Europe.
In the midst of Europe’s greatest recession, 40% of all EU companies have difficulties finding workers with the right skills. For innovative companies, this is even more challenging. This emerges from Eurofound’s third European Company Survey (ECS), launched in Brussels on 26 November 2013. The European Company Survey (ECS) maps what is happening in companies across the European Union.
While life satisfaction increased marginally across the European Union between 2007 and 2011, happiness and optimism levels have fallen and perceived social exclusion has increased, indicating a decline in overall well-being in many European countries. Eurofound’s new report is the first in a series of reports which covers trends in quality of life in Europe over the past decade.
