EditPoor working conditions fuel extremism: EU labour market challenges in focus
Brussels conference explores how low-quality jobs undermine social stability and hinder Europe’s competitiveness
The EU’s employment model garnered both praise for its progressive approach, distinguishing it from other global powers, and criticism as a hindrance to competitiveness, with several conference speakers arguing that the persistence of low-quality jobs creates fertile ground for the rise of far-right and extremist movements across the European Union.
On 30 September Brussels hosted a landmark conference marking the 50th anniversary of Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Established in 1975 by the European Council as an independent EU agency, Eurofound serves as a vital hub for research and analysis on employment, work, and social policies across Europe.
Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, it supports EU institutions, national governments, and social partners by providing evidence-based insights to foster better living and working conditions. Eurofound’s director is Ivailo Kalfin, a former deputy prime minister of Bulgaria who was his country’s foreign minister when it joined the EU in 2007.
The anniversary event underscored Eurofound’s enduring relevance amid Europe’s post-pandemic recovery and geopolitical shifts. A highlight was the unveiling of findings from its latest report, “Structural Change in EU Labour Markets: Trends and Drivers,” which examines employment transformations from 1995 to 2024. The report reveals a dynamic EU labour market that added nearly 30 million net new jobs in under three decades, predominantly in services sectors – both public and private – and in high-skilled professional roles requiring advanced qualifications.
🎬 What a great exchange of ideas at Residence Palace today!
Our panel debate brought together diverse voices to reflect on Europe’s future: competitiveness, inclusion, and prosperity for all.The recording of the event will shortly be available on our YouTube channel. pic.twitter.com/g4qFzKJQ4K
— Eurofound (@eurofound) September 30, 2025
Yet, the report tempers optimism with cautionary notes, echoing Mario Draghi’s 2024 analysis on European competitiveness. Despite these gains, productivity growth has stagnated since 1995, failing to capitalize on a more educated workforce. Structural shifts – such as declining manufacturing and agriculture shares, and a post-2008 slowdown in job reallocation – have not translated into efficiency boosts. Divergences within the EU are stark: pre-2004 members face stalled productivity, while newer entrants benefit from service-sector transitions. Compared to the US, Europe’s lag stems from underinvestment in ICT and emerging tech like AI and cloud computing, where private services thrive more robustly across the Atlantic.
Wealth distribution going backwards
Speaking at the conference, Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Global Ambassador for The Club of Rome and Executive Chair of Earth4All, pointed out at worrying global trends, aggravated since the return of Donald Trump to the White House. She cited World Bank data, according to which the number of people globally still living in poverty is around 3,5 billion, having barely changed since 1990, while the CEO salaries in the U.S. have increase by 1460% since 1978. For the same period, employee salaries increased by 18%. Global billionaire wealth grew by $2 trillion in2024, three times faster than the year before.
The “elephant in the room”, as she said, was wealth distribution, with the poorest 50% taking less than 15% in global earnings, while the richest 10% take well over 40%.
She also spoke about what she called a “morality gap” and described the current trends coming from the U.S. as “polarisation and distrust – rise of nationalism and authoritarian regimes, pullback from international cooperation”.
Dixson-Declève also warned about the need to enhance the european digital sovereignty. If Donald Trump wanted to delete all European data on severs owned by U.S. companies, he could, she said.
“He could pressure on companies in the U.S. to get rid of our data”, she said.
Maria Jepsen, deputy director Eurofound, spoke about the EU prioritising the creation of quality jobs as a cornerstone of its social and economic policies. This ambition seeks to ensure that jobs are not only abundant but also secure, well-paid, and conducive to personal and professional development.
But she underlined that 18% of workers in the EU fare “really bad in terms of job quality”.
EUalive asked if there is a correlation between those 18% of workers and the surge of political extremism and of violent protests across several EU member states.
Various speakers took the floor to answer the question. Jepsen said that strictly speaking, there was no research linking the political phenomena to the labour conditions of this category of workers. But there was research identifying vulnerable groups and such workers fitted in it, so it was possible to expect such situations to give a political response to their situation.
Claes-Mikael Ståhl, Deputy General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), said there were national reports, including in Germany, which allowed this correlation. He also backed this with his personal observations in his native Sweden, where low-quality workers turned to the anti-immigration forces and the far-right, despite being of foreign origin.
Ivailo Kalfin, Executive Director of Eurofound, also responded to the question, saying that if EU decision-makers want to have a continuous advancement, what is needed is political stability.
“And political stability means to target these groups that are the most vulnerable, and because they see themselves nailed without any chance to move on, then you can expect negative developments”, he said.
Caption: Ivailo Kalfin [L] debriefs following the panel discussion with Sandrine Dixson-Declève [R] [Photo Georgi Gotev]
Updated: October 1, 2025 - 05:50
