Labour market

An analysis of policies in 35 countries

Ghailani D., Peña-Casas R., Coster S. and Regazzoni P.

European Social Policy Network (ESPN), Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union

Labour market issues and social protection

Spasova S. and Wilkens M.

in Vanhercke B., Ghailani D. and Sabato S. (eds.), Social Policy in the European Union: State of Play 2018, Brussels: European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and European Social Observatory (OSE), pp. 97-116

The OSE is a partner in a new Horizon Europe-funded research project (2022-2025) looking at ‘Welfare systems and Labour market policies for economic and social resilience in Europe’ (‘WeLaR’). The project is coordinated by the Research Institute for Work and Society (HIVA, KU Leuven) and brings together research institutes from six European Union countries: Austria (ZSI-WIIW), Belgium (OSE), Germany (ZEW), Italy (UNIPG), Luxembourg (LISER), Poland (ALDGATE-IBS) – as well as Serbia (EKOF).

The OSE was contracted by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) to conduct research which will result in the 21st edition of the ‘Bilan social’ (its shorter name in French), to be edited by Bart Vanhercke, Slavina Spasova and Boris Fronteddu. This year’s contributors include Karen Anderson, Anniek de Ruijter, Dalila Ghailani, Scott Greer, Éloi Laurent, Matteo Mandelli, Martin Myant, Jill Rubery, Sebastiano Sabato and Ramón Peña-Casas.

In spite of the current strong emphasis in all EU countries on means to tackle youth unemployment, the participation of older individuals in the labour market remains a significant policy challenge. This is due to the interplay of the current recession, the ageing of the population and the need to control public welfare spending (pensions, unemployment benefits and social assistance). In this context, the European Social Observatory has started a new European Commission-funded project, called Policies for an Aged Workforce in the EU (PAWEU). The project is coordinated by the Fondazione G.

OSE started new research for the European Trade Union Institute aimed at developing a critical assessment of the welfare reforms adopted by the Member States in the wake of the economic and fiscal crisis. The research project embraces a larger set of policies: labour market policies, social policies (pensions), education, R&D, and public sector reforms. Some of these areas are typical examples of the so-called ‘structural reforms’ supported by international organisations and the EU.