1 in 5 jobs in the EU vulnerable - New report from Eurofound: Spain tops the list
"A multidimensional phenomenon that includes income insufficiency, employment insecurity and lack of rights in the workplace," is how Eurofound defines employment vulnerability for living and working conditions.
In its latest report, the EU agency that provides insights to help develop better social, employment and labour policies found that 18.8% of jobs fell below the required level in at least one of these defining dimensions in 2021, the most recent year with comparable income data.
However, the direction of the trend is encouraging. Vulnerability rose from 21.4% in 2009 to 23.8% in 2014 after the financial crisis, driven by a rise in involuntary temporary and part-time work, before falling steadily from 2016 onwards to below its pre-crisis level.
This is consistent with the agency's summary of its 2024 Working Conditions Survey, published in April, which reported gradual improvement in the quality of work in Europe despite persistent disruptions.
Spain has the highest vulnerability rate at 29%, followed by Portugal and Luxembourg at 25% and Italy at 24%, while Hungary (17%), Malta and Bulgaria (both at 18%) record the lowest levels.
The nature of the problem varies as much as its scale. In continental countries such as Germany and Austria and across central and eastern Europe, low pay is the main factor, accounting for almost three-quarters of vulnerability in Bulgaria in the 2019 report breakdown.
Elsewhere, insecurity is to blame, as involuntary temporary and part-time work dominates in the Mediterranean and Nordic countries and contributes 56% of the total in Ireland, the highest share in the EU. Luxembourg's surprising position near the top reflects the fact that pay is measured against each country's average income.
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