Labour market change: trends and policy approaches towards flexibilisation

Abstract

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) is a tripartite European Union Agency established to provide knowledge in the area of social, employment and work-related policies. Eurofound's work programme for 2017-2020 set out to document and capture the major trends and policy developments regarding the flexibilisation of employment in the EU between 2008 and 2018. Labour markets in the EU are diversifying in terms of working time patterns and the nature of employment relationships. These changes are driven by socioeconomic trends, such as the shift to a service-based economy and the growing share of women in work, as well as technological developments. In addition, labour markets are responding to the needs of workers for employment that fits in with their non-work activities and to the demands of employers for flexible labour inputs - a consequence of enhanced global competition. As economic contractions impact particularly on workers with more precarious employment status, so the issues, and policy responses, highlighted in this report are likely to take on added significance during and after the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.