Living and working in Europe

By 2024, rising labour demand pushed employment rates to historic highs and unemployment rates to historic lows, shifting the policy focus from reducing unemployment to tackling persistent labour shortages. Evolving skills needs, job quality concerns, and the green and digital transitions have only intensified the challenge. Persistent skills shortages in the EU limit companies’ ability to hire, innovate and adapt. Eurofound research examined company strategies to attract new talent, engage underutilised labour, and improve job quality to attract and retain workers.

Key insights

• Labour shortages are a long-term structural issue
• Engaging underutilised labour groups is key
• Skills shortages remain widespread across the EU, especially among SMEs
• Poor job quality drives shortages
• Companies are taking action to attract and retain workers

In 2024, the EU experienced some of its most devastating climate-related disasters in recent times. These extreme weather events have turned what was once a distant threat of climate change into an immediate crisis. They vindicate the EU’s commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. However, economic pressures, social inequalities and labour shortages pose growing risks to achieving these goals.

Key insights

• The green transition’s overall job impact will be modest but uneven
• Rising demand for green jobs does not guarantee better job quality
• Social partner involvement is crucial
• Economic concerns, particularly in rural areas, may dampen support for the green transition

Developments in digitalisation are reshaping the world of work, with implications for both workers and companies. Innovations in robotics, algorithmic management and artificial intelligence (AI) accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and are changing how tasks are performed, managed and supervised. Eurofound research explores the current landscape of robot adoption, the role of AI in robotics, and the implications of these technologies for work organisation, job quality and working conditions.

Key insights

• Robot use remains concentrated in large firms and the manufacturing sector
• AI-embedded robotics is enabling more complex, adaptive tasks
• For now, robots are reshaping job roles, not eliminating them
• Impacts on job quality are mixed

Over 40 million people teleworked across the EU in 2021 – double the number compared with 2019 – as COVID-19 restrictions and changes in work culture significantly altered work organisation. In 2024, debates continued over the permanency of telework, with an overall majority of employees pushing for hybrid work arrangements, while the trend of large companies demanding a full-scale return to the office gained momentum.

Key insights

1. Hybrid work remains the dominant telework model
2. Gender disparities are apparent in telework opportunities
3. Telework is characterised by a rural–urban divide
4. Surveillance concerns are on the rise
5. Remote work may change the nature of harassment   
    

Young people in Europe experienced a rough set of years during the COVID-19 pandemic and were disproportionately affected by job loss, housing insecurity and mental health struggles. The path towards independence remains uncertain for young people. Eurofound research investigates how young people are experiencing their emerging adulthood in the wake of a pandemic that created massive social, political and economic challenges.

Key insights

• Youth employment has recovered, but job quality remains mixed
• The rates of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) remain relatively high, especially for women
• Mental ill-health is an ongoing crisis
• The housing crisis is delaying independence

Spiralling housing costs and lack of availability of affordable housing are causing anxiety and frustration across the EU. In the run-up to the 2024 European elections, the housing crisis emerged as a key issue across the whole of the EU and the entire political spectrum. As policy attention intensifies, Eurofound’s EU-wide research mapping unaffordable and inadequate housing and policies to address it becomes even more salient, offering insights into the multifaceted nature of the housing crisis and potential strategies to address it effectively.

Key insights

• Private renters face the greatest housing insecurity
• The green transition can improve housing quality
• Eviction prevention must start early
• Middle-income earners are being excluded from support
• Homelessness remains a challenge despite some progress
   

In recent years, the EU has confronted a series of overlapping crises that have collectively strained public trust in both the EU and national institutions. This erosion of trust poses significant risks to social cohesion and democratic stability. Disparities in trust levels extend beyond generational and socioeconomic divides, with growing inequalities between rural and urban areas further exacerbating political discontent. However, while trust in institutions has come under pressure, this has not necessarily translated into widespread political disengagement.

Key insights

• Political social cohesion remains stable
• Trust in institutions has declined
• Economic hardship erodes trust in institutions
• Unemployment weakens political engagement and institutional trust
• The rural–urban divide is deepening

As the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine entered its third year in 2024, Eurofound continued its engagement with the impacts of the war on both refugees and host communities. In 2024, Eurofound published research on the integration of Ukrainian refugees in EU Member States, focusing on labour market access, housing, healthcare and essential services. The research also examined the mental health toll of the war on displaced Ukrainians, shedding light on the psychological challenges they face and the availability of support services across the EU.

Key insights

• Ukrainian refugees’ labour market integration has been generally positive
• Language barriers and job quality remain key challenges
• Limited access to childcare constrains employment, especially for women
• Mental health issues are widespread, but access to services is limited

After years of economic upheaval, 2024 brought some signs of relief for workers in the EU, with inflation beginning to ease and nominal wages continuing to rise. Yet for millions of people across the EU, making ends meet remains a daily struggle. Adequate minimum wages are a core element of the European Commission’s upcoming Anti-Poverty Strategy and the European Pillar of Social Rights, aimed at ensuring decent living standards and reducing in-work poverty. Eurofound’s findings contribute to assessing whether these goals are being met across Member States.

Key insights

• Inflation has slowed, but Europeans are still experiencing financial strain
• Income inequality trends vary across the EU
• Minimum wages are rising, but financial struggles remain
• Single-person minimum wage households are particularly vulnerable
• The middle class remains stable but is shrinking in many countries

Social protection systems play a crucial role in reducing poverty and ensuring economic stability across Europe. Targets set by the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan aim to reduce poverty by 15 million people by 2030, but many are still left behind. As the EU seeks to modernise social protection, simplifying administrative procedures, enhancing transparency and reducing bureaucratic hurdles will be essential to ensuring that benefits reach those most in need.

Key insights

• Widespread gaps exist in social protection coverage
• Access barriers persist despite eligibility
• Self-employed workers have insufficient coverage
• Platform workers are in the grey area

In 2024, Eurofound’s work extended beyond research and policy to building a strong culture of collaboration with the local community, with partners across Europe and within the organisation itself. From environmental sustainability efforts in our offices in Dublin to public engagement across the EU, 2024 was a year of connection and commitment.

As we enter 2025, Eurofound marks its 50th anniversary – a milestone moment to reflect on five decades of research that has helped shape European employment and social policies. The Agency’s work programme for 2025, which operates within its multiannual research programme for 2025–2028, is informed by the challenges arising from four key mega-drivers: climate change, demographic change, technological change and re-globalisation and geopolitical reconfiguration.