Protecting jobs and incomes in Europe : towards an EU capacity for employment stabilisation in the pandemic period

The economic crisis associated with the COVID-19 pandemic leads to a substantial potential loss of personal incomes and jobs. European countries have given different answers to the rising challenge, which nevertheless point to the same direction. We give three examples of such courses of action, describing Austria, Spain, and the UK. In an early phase of the crisis, the European Commission put forward a new instrument financially supporting short-time work (STW), labelled SURE (temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency). We discuss the main features and criticalities of SURE. While SURE is a step in the right direction, there is still room to grow: SURE is a safety net to jobs, but not to the unemployed. We examine and compare some of the unemployment insurance and re-insurance alternatives that could shape a future European unemployment benefit scheme.