The European population is ageing owing to decreasing birth rates and increasing longevity. Population ageing is associated with a decrease in the size and ageing of the workforce. The majority of the EU Member States have reacted to this development by, among other measures, increasing...

The nature of trade is changing and becoming increasingly global in its outlook. While this is undoubtedly having far-reaching repercussions on labour markets across Europe, the precise nature of the impact is hard to quantify. This report provides some perspectives on the effects of trade...

Using data from the fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), this study measures job quality in the 27 countries of the European Union, as well as seven additional countries in Europe that participated in the survey. The intention was to find an objective means of assessing the principle...

Work plays a pivotal role in people's lives, in the functioning of companies and in society at large, Improving the quality of work and working conditions has long been at the forefront of EU policy, most recently in the Europe 2020 Strategy towards 'Smart, inclusive and cohesive growth'. The...

Achieving work environments that make work sustainable over a lifetime is a key facet of the promotion of longer working lives. This study considers the dimensions of work that have proved essential to the understanding of work sustainability: working conditions; physical and psychological...

The economic crisis has severely damaged the employment prospects of young people in Europe, and their employment rate is now at the lowest level ever. To better capture the extent of economic inactivity among the young, the concept of NEET - not in employment, education or training - has been...

Population ageing is often viewed as an impending threat to the economic and social stability of post-industrial societies. Forecasters expect people aged 65 and over to make up 30% of the European Union population by 2060 - almost double today's figure of 17%. At the same time, the working age...

Restructuring is part and parcel of the economic fabric in Europe, as companies must adapt to altered conditions in a bid to remain sustainable and competitive. Most of the policy focus so far, however, has been on restructuring in terms of the large firm. In light of the relative importance of...