Eurofound shows that almost one in 11 employees in the European Union works in undesirable forms of employment.

A Eurofound report shows that 8.8% of employees in the European Union were working in unwanted non-standard forms of employment in 2024, such as temporary contracts accepted due to a lack of a permanent position or part-time work accepted due to a lack of a full-time job. The phenomenon has decreased compared to 2006 and from the peak in 2015, but remains concentrated especially in Italy, Spain, and other southern European economies, as well as among women, young people, low-skilled workers, non-EU citizens, and employees in small firms and services.

Almost one in 11 employees in the European Union was working in an unwanted non-standard form of employment in 2024, according to a Eurofound report on temporary contracts and part-time work accepted due to a lack of more stable alternatives. The indicator analyzed by Eurofound covers employees who have temporary contracts because they cannot find a permanent position, work part-time because they cannot find a full-time job, or are simultaneously in both situations.

In short The rate of involuntary non-standard employment in the European Union has decreased from 11.2% in 2006 to 8.8% in 2024, after a peak of 12.7% in 2015.

Approximately half of the temporary employees in the EU still have such contracts involuntarily, indicating that temporariness often remains an imposed solution, not a chosen one. The differences between states are very large: Italy has the highest rate, 18.4%, followed by Spain, 17%, while Romania has the lowest rate, 1.4%. Women, young people, workers with lower education levels, non-EU citizens, employees in small firms, and service workers are more exposed to the risk of unwanted non-standard work. Eurofound warns that, although the situation has improved, the risk has increasingly concentrated in certain service sectors and among vulnerable groups in the labor market.

The report "Constrained flexibility: Involuntary non-standard employment in the European Union" was prepared by Carlos Vacas Soriano and Dragoș Adăscăliței and uses microdata from the EU Labour Force Survey for the period 2006, 2024. Eurofound analyzes not only whether an employee has a temporary contract or works part-time, but also whether this situation corresponds to their preference or is accepted because there is no better option available.

The distinction is essential for social policy. Part-time or temporary work can be beneficial when chosen, for example, for reconciling professional life with family responsibilities or for entering the labor market. The problem arises when workers bear the costs of flexibility without benefiting from its advantages, through lower wages, reduced access to training, weaker social protection, and greater job insecurity.

At the level of the European Union, the rate of involuntary non-standard employment has decreased from 11.2% in 2006 to 8.8% in 2024. The evolution has not been linear: the indicator rose to 12.7% in 2015, against the backdrop of the Great Recession and the years following the crisis, then decreased steadily as labor markets consolidated and the share of temporary contracts began to reduce.

In 2024, almost two-thirds of employees in involuntary non-standard work were temporary workers, most of whom worked full-time. Involuntary part-time work, especially among permanent employees who would prefer full-time hours, accounted for less than a third of the total.

Data shows that temporary work remains the main component of the phenomenon. In 2024, involuntary temporary employees accounted for 5.4 percentage points of the total rate of 8.8%, meaning approximately two-thirds of the total. Employees working part-time involuntarily contributed 2.4 percentage points, while those simultaneously in involuntary temporary and part-time work contributed about 1 percentage point.

The report highlights that approximately half of the temporary employees in the European Union still have these contracts involuntarily. This finding shows that, for a significant part of the European labor force, a temporary contract is not a chosen stage or a convenient flexible form, but an accepted solution because there is no permanent contract available.

The differences between member states are very large. In 2024, the rate of involuntary non-standard employment exceeded 18% in Italy and 17% in Spain, while falling below 2% in Romania and Lithuania. Eurofound describes a geographical divide where several southern European economies and older EU states have higher rates, while some newer member states have much lower levels.

The comparative table shows that Romania had the lowest rate in the EU, 1.4%, followed by Lithuania, 1.7%, Slovakia, 2.2%, Hungary, 2.5%, Bulgaria, 2.6%, Estonia, 2.8%, Latvia, 3%, and Slovenia, 3.3%. At the opposite end, Italy recorded 18.4%, Spain 17%, Cyprus 15%, Portugal 13.3%, Finland 13.2%, and Greece 12.5%.

Italy and Spain stand out not only for the high level of the indicator but also for the type of underemployment. In these two countries, the contribution of permanent employees working part-time involuntarily is very high, 6.2 percentage points in Italy and 4.3 percentage points in Spain, indicating a problem of insufficient working hours, not just temporary contracts.

The report also shows who the most affected employees are. In 2024, 59% of workers in involuntary non-standard employment were women, 55% were under 40 years old, and two-thirds had low or medium education levels. Almost 75% of these workers were citizens of the country in which they worked, indicating that the phenomenon is not limited to migration, although non-citizens are overrepresented in the more precarious segments of the labor market.

The professional profile confirms precariousness. Three-quarters of affected employees had temporary contracts, almost half worked part-time, 77% had a maximum of four years of seniority at their workplace, and almost half worked either in elementary occupations or in sales and services. Almost 60% worked in companies with at most 50 employees, and almost half were concentrated in health, education, trade, or hotels and restaurants.

Econometric analysis shows that the risk is not distributed randomly. In 2024, after controlling for other characteristics, the probability of being in involuntary non-standard employment was higher for young people, women, workers with lower education, non-EU citizens, people with multiple jobs, employees in low-skilled occupations, agricultural workers, employees in small firms, and those in certain service sectors.

Eurofound observes a real improvement in labor market conditions after 2015, not just a statistical change in the composition of the labor force. However, the risk of involuntary non-standard employment has concentrated more strongly in certain service sectors, indicating that the overall improvement has not eliminated areas of vulnerability.

The report also indicates a persistent gender dimension. The difference between women and men is almost entirely determined by involuntary part-time work, where women remain more exposed than men. Eurofound notes that this situation must be read in connection with the availability and cost of care services, parental leave, and the distribution of family responsibilities.

The conclusion of the report is that the decrease in the European rate does not eliminate the need for targeted interventions. Persistent issues remain in Mediterranean economies, in specific service sectors, in small firms, and for vulnerable groups, and public policies must take into account not only the number of temporary or part-time contracts but also the extent to which these forms of work are chosen or imposed by a lack of alternatives.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/stiri/eurofound-arata-ca-aproape-unul-din-11-angajati-din-uniunea-europeana-lucreaza-in-forme-de-munca-nedorite