Employment status

Feelings of insecurity in several dimensions of life are widespread in the EU population, even among those who are materially well-off. Policymakers need to take these insecurities into account to better understand the concerns and dissatisfactions of citizens. This knowledge can inform and enhance social and employment policymaking. This policy brief examines people’s insecurity in five areas: personal, housing, healthcare, employment and income in old age. It identifies where intensity differs among people depending on characteristics such as age, gender and economic circumstances. The brief concludes that offsetting social insecurities depends on more than individual resilience.

Explore data from this policy brief

• Data: Levels of worry about not having adequate income in old age

This report describes the employment and social situation of young people in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – the WB6) and also looks at employment in Türkiye.

It focuses on young people because they were particularly hard hit by COVID‐19. It disrupted the quality and quantity of their education and training, and many lost their jobs. As elsewhere, the crisis disproportionately impacted young people’s well-being in the WB6 and Türkiye.