The changing structure of employment in the EU: Annual review 2023

Employment levels in the EU27 recovered from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2021 much faster than they did after the global financial crisis in 2008–2010. This was despite the immediate job loss effects of the two crises being of comparable scale. Demographic change is affecting labour supply, as the EU’s working age population has been contracting since 2010. This paper summarises structural developments in European labour markets over a period spanning the two crises and the subsequent recoveries (2008–2023). It relies mainly on EU Labour Force Survey data to show how recent developments appear to have stimulated processes of occupational upgrading while disproportionately reducing employment in low-paid services jobs.