One in Five EU Jobs Now Classed as Vulnerable, Report Reveals
Usagevpn.com – A new comprehensive analysis has revealed that one in five EU jobs are now considered vulnerable, with Spain emerging as the country with the highest rate. Eurofound, the European Union’s tripartite agency responsible for providing knowledge to support better social, employment, and work-related policies, has defined this vulnerability as a multidimensional phenomenon. This encompasses income inadequacy, employment insecurity, and a lack of workplace rights. According to their latest report, 18.8% of jobs across the EU—essentially one in five EU jobs—fell below the threshold on at least one of these definitional dimensions in 2021, which remains the most recent year with comparable income data available.
Historical Trends and Regional Variations
The trajectory of employment vulnerability tells an encouraging story of recovery. Following the financial crisis, vulnerability climbed from 21.4% in 2009 to 23.8% in 2014, driven primarily by a surge in involuntary temporary and part-time work. However, since 2016, the trend has declined steadily, eventually falling below its pre-crisis level. This positive movement aligns with Eurofound’s overview of its 2024 working conditions survey, published in April, which reported gradually improving job quality across Europe alongside persistent regional divides.
Spain leads the ranking with a vulnerability rate of 29%, followed by Portugal and Luxembourg at 25%, and Italy at 24%. Meanwhile, Hungary (17%), Malta, and Bulgaria (both 18%) record the lowest levels. It is worth noting that data from 2021 remains unavailable for Cyprus, Czechia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Sweden, meaning these countries were excluded from this particular study.
“It is the accumulation of multiple vulnerabilities that consistently leads to negative outcomes,” the report concludes, highlighting poorer prospects, limited access to training, less autonomy, and unpredictable earnings.
Understanding the Drivers of Vulnerability
The nature of employment vulnerability differs significantly across regions. In continental countries such as Germany and Austria, as well as across central and eastern Europe, low pay emerges as the dominant driver. This factor accounts for nearly three quarters of vulnerability in Bulgaria according to the report’s 2019 breakdown. Conversely, in Mediterranean and Nordic states, insecurity reigns supreme as involuntary temporary and part-time work dominates. This contributes 56% of the total in Ireland, representing the highest share in the EU.
Luxembourg’s surprising position near the top of the vulnerability rankings reflects the methodology used: pay is measured against each country’s own median income rather than a uniform European standard. Certain demographic groups face disproportionate challenges. Women, young workers, migrants, Roma communities, people with disabilities, and LGBT+ individuals are all more likely to hold vulnerable jobs. These populations are held back by discrimination, care responsibilities, and for migrants specifically, legal hurdles and unrecognised qualifications.
Educational attainment plays a crucial role as well. In Hungary, for instance, 58% of workers with low levels of education are vulnerable compared to just 6% of graduates. Time in the labour market also matters considerably. Each additional year spent working cuts the risk of vulnerability by one percentage point, representing roughly a 20% reduction over a 20-year career. Youth vulnerability can be particularly striking, with 59% of young Danish workers classified as vulnerable in 2015 against only 11% of adults. However, in Nordic countries, this is largely a transitory phase on the path to stable employment.
Being vulnerable in a single dimension does not necessarily condemn someone to a poor working life. In fact, such employees sometimes report better outcomes than their secure colleagues, particularly regarding work intensity. The toll of vulnerability is primarily mental rather than physical. Highly vulnerable workers demonstrate higher rates of anxiety and depression, even though they are less likely to report work-related stress directly. This counterintuitive finding appears consistently in the survey data, with the report presenting both observations without attempting to fully reconcile them, as the causes for increased anxiety and depression are evidently not work-related.
With the European Commission’s Quality Jobs Act currently under consultation, Eurofound argues that flexibility must be preserved without allowing atypical work to erode standards. Furthermore, the agency emphasizes that rules are only as effective as the labour inspectorates responsible for enforcing them. As policymakers consider these recommendations, the goal remains clear: to ensure that one in five EU jobs currently classified as vulnerable can transition toward more secure, dignified employment conditions.
