Unemployment
Long-term unemployment, youth unemployment, and the increase in underemployed or involuntary part-time workers remains a concern in many Member States. Unemployment, and especially long-term unemployment, increases a person's risk of social exclusion, poverty and inequality, and adds to the cost of social services and public finances. According to the European Pillar of Social Rights, unemployed people have the right to personalised, continuous and consistent support, including adequate unemployment benefits of reasonable duration.
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Social protection 2.0: Unemployment and minimum income benefits
This report focuses on unemployment and minimum income benefits for people of working age. Individuals with short or no employment records (mainly young people), the self-employed, those with non-standard working arrangements, and the long-term unemployed are often not entitled to higher-tier, or any, unemployment benefits. No Member State was identified where more than 80% of those entitled to minimum income benefits receive them. Benefit recipients at higher risk of having an inadequate income include those without access to social housing in areas with high housing costs, unemployed individuals whose most recent job was low paid and the long-term unemployed people. The report also investigates the rejection of applications (frequently, around 30% are rejected), the digitalisation of application processes (most common for unemployment benefits) and economic activation requirements (typically, 1–6% of benefit recipients annually are sanctioned for not complying with activity requirements) and service entitlements.
Social protection for the unemployed - Background paper
This background paper focuses on one important aspect of social protection: unemployment benefits, both first tier (usually contributory) and lower tier (predominantly tax-based, non-contributory and means-tested). Unemployment benefits help to cushion the impact of job loss on household finances and act as an economic stabiliser. The paper examines trends in expenditure on unemployment benefits, identifies gaps in formal coverage, discusses groups for whom benefits are inadequate, and looks at non-take-up, rejection decisions, digitalisation of application procedures, and links between unemployment benefits and service entitlements.
Measures to tackle labour shortages: Lessons for future policy
As economies begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, labour shortages are becoming increasingly evident despite the impact of the war in Ukraine on energy and commodity prices. These include shortages exacerbated by the crisis in some sectors and professions where they had been endemic for some time. This report looks at measures implemented at national level to tackle labour shortages in the health, care, and information and communication technology sectors, as well as those arising from the twin green and digital transition. It assesses what measures are effective and explores the contextual factors supporting or hindering effective policy implementation and outcomes.
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Tadas Leončikas
Head of UnitTadas Leončikas is Head of the Employment unit at Eurofound since September 2022. Prior to this, he was a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit, managing the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) and developing Eurofound's survey research. Since joining Eurofound in 2010, he has worked on various topics including survey methods, quality of life, social mobility, social inclusion, trust and housing inadequacies. In his earlier career, he headed up the Institute for Ethnic Studies in Lithuania where he worked on studies related to the situation of ethnic minorities, migrants and other vulnerable groups. As a researcher, he has previously collaborated with the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the United Nations Development Programme and the International Organization for Migration. He has a PhD in Sociology.
Massimiliano Mascherini
Head of UnitMassimiliano Mascherini is Head of the Social Policies unit at Eurofound since October 2019. He joined Eurofound in 2009 as a research manager, designing and coordinating projects on youth employment, NEETs and gender equality. In 2017, he became a senior research manager and spearheaded new research on monitoring convergence in the EU. In addition, he led the conceptualisation of the 2026 European Quality of Life Survey. In 2025, he was awarded the Brendan Walsh prize for the best paper published in Economic and Social Review. Previously, he was scientific officer at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. He studied at the University of Florence, where he majored in actuarial and statistical sciences and attained a PhD in Applied Statistics. In 2014, he obtained a scientific qualification as Associate Professor of Social Statistics and Demography from the Italian Ministry of University and Research. He has been visiting fellow at the University of Sydney and at Aalborg University and visiting professor at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
Hans Dubois
Senior research managerHans Dubois is a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. His research topics include housing, over-indebtedness, healthcare, long-term care, social benefits, retirement, and quality of life in the local area. Prior to joining Eurofound, he was Assistant Professor at Kozminski University (Warsaw). He completed a PhD in Business Administration and Management at Bocconi University (Milan), after working as a research officer at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (Madrid).
John Hurley
Senior research managerJohn Hurley is a senior research manager in the Employment unit at Eurofound. He took up the role of research manager in February 2012. He contributes to a number of research projects including the European Jobs Monitor and has authored or co-authored over 20 reports as well as journal contributions and edited collections during his time at Eurofound. His main research interests are in the areas of comparative labour market analysis, restructuring and the changing world of work. John is a graduate of both Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin.
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