Labour participation

Citation

(2001), "Labour participation", Work Study, Vol. 50 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2001.07950aaf.002

Labour participation

Labour participationKeywords: Employment, Workers, Survey

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has recently published a series of four summaries which set out the key findings of its EU-wide (and Norway) survey on Employment Options of the Future. Essentially the survey seeks to answer three fundamental questions – who wants to work?, why do they want to work?, and when do they want to work? The four main target groups of the survey are: employed persons, young entrants, women returners and unemployed persons.

The survey results on labour market participation indicate a widespread intention among the non-working population to take up paid employment within the next five years. There is also a high level of work experience among the target groups identified by the survey, in particular women returners and the unemployed.

However, the survey also indicated that there is a gap in the labour market in what it offers to workers and what workers actually want. Only 35 per cent of workers are happy with their current working hours, 11 per cent would like to work more and about 54 per cent would like to work less. The group of entrants and re-entrants show a high degree of flexibility in some of their preferences, with at least 30 per cent in each target group being ready to consider self-employment and more than 80 per cent willing to accept part-time work.

Job security remains a determining factor in job strategies for two out of the three target groups. Only young entrants to the labour market would be willing to accept a non-permanent contract.

Four-fifths of the unemployed are presently looking for work but confidence about finding work is not at all widespread. The take-up of help and advice about the labour market is also generally low.

The summary suggests a number of social and policy implications. The main constraints on labour participation are identified by the survey as the discrepancy between the current working time model and the wish for substantial part-time expressed by the women returners, the still ongoing long-term unemployment and the lack of marketable skills for the unemployed.