Money Buzz! Europa

Tag: employees

  • Czechia: Unemployment rate reached 2.3% in April 2020

    Czechia: Unemployment rate reached 2.3% in April 2020

    The general unemployment rate of the aged 15–64 years, seasonally adjusted, reached 2.3% in April 2020 and increased by 0.2%, year-on-year, latest Czech Statistical Office data shows.

    The male unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, attained 2.0%; the female unemployment rate reached 2.6%.

    The employment rate of the aged 15–64 years, seasonally adjusted, reached 75.2% in April 2020 and slightly increased compared to that in April 2019.

    The male employment rate was 82.3%; the female employment rate was 67.8%, both seasonally adjusted.

    The employment rate of persons aged 15–29 years, seasonally adjusted, was 44.9%, in the age group 30–49 years it attained 87.7%, and in the age group 50–64 years it got to 76.3%.

  • Three quarters of utility workers in EU are men

    Three quarters of utility workers in EU are men

    Eurostat shows that in 2019, 4.6 million persons aged 15 years or older were employed in the utilities sector in the European Union (EU), representing 2.3% of all persons employed.

    The utilities sector covers electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (31% of the employment in the sector), waste collection, treatment and disposal activities (22%), telecommunications (19%), retail sale of automotive fuel in specialised store (10%), water collection, treatment and supply (9%), manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (4%), sewerage (3%), as well as remediation activities and other waste management services (1%), extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas (1%) and support activities for petroleum and natural gas extraction (1%).

    The utilities sector is male dominated

    In 2019, almost three quarters (73%) of the workers in the sector were men. Most of the workers employed in this sector in the EU were aged 35-49 (40%), while one in three (33%) were aged 50 or above.

    Only one quarter (27%) of the workers in the sector were aged 15-34.

  • 65% of Romanian companies didn’t apply measures to reduce employee costs

    65% of Romanian companies didn’t apply measures to reduce employee costs

    Two thirds (65%) of the responding companies didn’t have to apply measures to reduce employee costs in the two months of the state of emergency, according to the HR Barometer conducted by PwC Romania in May.

    Cost-cutting companies have adopted a mix of measures applied differently depending on employees’ positions, in general targeting operational staff in areas most affected by the state of emergency.

    Thus, 11% have applied furloughs with help from the state budget, but without making up the difference, while 15% have used furloughs and covered the salary gap, 17% have reduced working time, with the agreement of the parties or granted unpaid leave, and 4% have laid off employees.

    In terms of wages, the survey shows that half of the respondents applied the salary increases for 2020 before the state of emergency was declared. The average increase was 5.77%, in line with forecasts announced in 2019.

    Almost 30% said they won’t increase salaries this year and 15% have changed their salary increase policy to only to critical positions. Benefit packages remained the same for 80% of respondents.

    The majority (65%) do not intend to change the system of variable payments.

    Back to work

    Less than a quarter of the companies surveyed (22%) returned to work on 18 May, with almost half not having decided on a return date yet.

    In this context, 80% intend to combine work from home with office work, even after the end of the state of emergency (15 May), with a majority taking employee opinions into account.

    Regarding HR activities, 37% of respondents said that they won’t change their recruitment and onboarding policies, and 30% stated their intention to postpone them until the state of emergency is lifted.

    Training and development programmes have been postponed by 33% of the respondents, with the same percentage having changed processes and tools, especially as part of digitalisation programmes.

  • 408 thousand persons were employed in the air transport sector in EU

    408 thousand persons were employed in the air transport sector in EU

    In 2019, 408 thousand persons aged 20-64 were employed in the air transport sector in the European Union (EU), representing an 11% increase compared with 2018.

    These workers accounted for 0.2% of total employment in the EU, Eurostat data shows.

    Among EU Member States, Luxembourg recorded the highest share of persons employed in the air transport sector (1.0% of total employment), followed by Malta (0.5%), Ireland, the Netherlands and Portugal (all 0.4%).

    With regard to the gender balance, a small majority of air transport workers were men (56%). The highest share of men was recorded in Sweden (77%), followed by Denmark (74%) and Malta (73%).

    By contrast, Finland was the only EU Member State where women were predominant in the air transport sector (57% of air transport workers were women).

  • 2.8 million unemployed europeans found work in Q4 2019

    2.8 million unemployed europeans found work in Q4 2019

    Eurostat shows that between the third quarter of 2019 and the fourth quarter of 2019, the last quarter before COVID-19 containment measures began to be widely introduced by Member States, 2.8 million people in the EU (21.4% of all unemployed in the third quarter of 2019) found a job.

    During this period, 7.2 million (55.4%) remained unemployed and a further 3.0 million (23.2%) became economically inactive.

    Of all those initially in employment in the third quarter of 2019, 2.1 million (1.3%) became unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2019, and 3.5 million (2.3%) transitioned into economic inactivity.

    From those initially counted as economically inactive in the third quarter of 2019, 3.4 million (3.4%) moved into employment in the fourth quarter of 2019, and 3.3 million (3.3%) transitioned into unemployment.

  • Almost 2 million people work in Bulgarian service sector

    Almost 2 million people work in Bulgarian service sector

    In the first quarter of 2020 there were 3 107.2 thousand employed persons aged 15 years and over, of whom 1 667.1 thousand men and 1 440.1 thousand women.

    The share of employed persons in the total population aged 15 years and over was 52.4% (58.7% for men and 46.7% for women).

    In the first quarter of 2020, 1 987.3 thousand persons (64.0% of all employed persons) worked in the service sector, 935.6 thousand persons (30.1%) worked in the industry sector and 184.3 thousand persons
    (5.9%) worked in agriculture, forestry and fishing.

    Of all employed persons 3.1% (96.8 thousand) were employers, 6.9% (214.8 thousand) were self-employed persons without employees, 89.4% (2 777.4 thousand) were employees and 0.6% (18.2 thousand) were unpaid family workers.

    Of all employees 2 086.1 thousand persons (75.1%) worked in private sector while 691.4 thousand (24.9%) worked in public sector.

    The number of employees with temporary job was 87.3 thousand, representing 3.1% of all employees.

  • Employment fell in most sectors in Slovakia, in March 2020

    Employment fell in most sectors in Slovakia, in March 2020

    • Employment fell in most sectors, rising only in information and communication and transportation and storage, show latest data of the Slovak Statistical Office.
    • Only half of sectors recorded an increase in the average monthly wage.

    In March 2020 compared with March 2019, the employment increased in information and communication by 4,6 % and in transportation and storage by 1,1 %.

    It decreased in industry by 3,6 %, retail trade by 3,5 %, food and beverage service activities by 3 %, accommodation by 2,3 %, wholesale by 1,8 %, sale and repair of motor vehicles by 1,4 %, construction by 0,9 % and in selected market services by 0,8 %.

    In the first three months of 2020, compared with the corresponding period in 2019, employment rose, on average, in information and communication by 5,3 %, accommodation by 2,1 %, transportation and storage by 1,7 %, selected market services by 1,5 %, construction and food and beverage service activities equally by 0,2 %.

    It decreased in retail trade by 2,6 %, industry by 2,5 %, wholesale by 1,1 % and in sale and repair of motor vehicles by 0,2 %.

    Average monthly wage increased in only half of sectors

    In March 2020 compared with March 2019, the average monthly wage increased in food and beverage service activities by 7,5 % (reached EUR 528), wholesale by 4,1 % (EUR 1.082), retail trade by 4 % (EUR 777), industry by 2,5 % (EUR 1.156) and in information and communication by 2 % (EUR 2.227).

    It decreased in accommodation by 6,9 % (EUR 704), sale and repair of motor vehicles by 2,3 % (EUR 997), construction by 2,1 % (EUR 712),  selected market services by 0,9 % (EUR 1.034) and in  transportation and storage by 0,4 % (EUR 987).

    In the first three months of 2020, compared with the corresponding period in 2019, the wage increased, on average, in food and beverage service activities by 10,9 % (reached EUR 550), retail trade by 7,2 % (EUR 790), industry by 4,8 % (EUR 1.155), wholesale by 4,3 % (EUR 1.063), transportation and storage by 4 % (EUR 1.016), selected market services by 3,9 % (EUR 1.031), information and communication by 3,4 % (EUR 2 037), accommodation by 2,9 % (EUR 770), construction by 2,3 % (EUR 723) and in sale and repair of motor vehicles by 1,3 % (EUR 1.046).

  • In 2019, 2.3% of employees in EU had a work contract under 3 months’ duration

    In 2019, 2.3% of employees in EU had a work contract under 3 months’ duration

    In 2019, 2.3% of employees in the European Union (EU) aged 20-64 had a precarious job, meaning that their work contract did not exceed three months’ duration, show Eurostat.

    The share of precarious employment, as a percentage of total employment, has remained relatively stable over the past decade, ranging from a low of 2.3% in 2009 to a high of 2.5% during the period 2015-2017.

    Employees in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector had the highest share of precarious work contracts, at 7.5% in 2019. This was followed by the wholesale and retail trade, transport, accommodation and food service activities sector (2.8%) and the and the sector of the other service activities and the activities of households as employers (2.4%).

    Seasonality in precarious employment

    Between 2014 and 2019, most economic activities displayed seasonal fluctuations, however at different magnitudes. Overall, the third quarter had the highest number of employees with precarious jobs.

    Among all economic activities, the wholesale, retail trade, transport, accommodation and food service activities sector represented the sharpest fluctuations in the number of employees who had precarious jobs, with an average increase of 30% from the second to the third quarter.

    Share of precarious employment highest in Croatia, lowest in Czechia and Romania

    Among the EU Member States, Croatia has had one of the highest shares of precarious employment since 2012. However, since its peak in 2016 (8.0%) this share has been gradually decreasing, reaching 5.8% in 2019.

    Other EU countries reporting the highest shares of precarious employment in 2019 were France (5.0%), Spain (3.8), Belgium (3.6%), and Italy (3.4%).

    At the other end of the scale, Czechia and Romania recorded the lowest share of precarious employment (both 0.2%).

  • The employment rate in Czech Republic exceeded 75% for the first time since 2018

    The employment rate in Czech Republic exceeded 75% for the first time since 2018

    Total employment in the Q1 2020 decreased by 28.1 thousand persons, year-on-year (y-o-y) and reached 5.277.4 thousand persons. The number of the unemployed, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) methodology, dropped by 3.6 thousand persons, y-o-y.

    The general unemployment rate stagnated at 2.0%. The number of the economically inactive aged 15+ years has significantly increased, by 58.7 thousand.

    In the Q1 2020, the average number of employed persons increased by 1.1 thousand persons, compared to the Q4 2019.

    The number of working persons aged 15+ years decreased by 28.1 thousand persons, y-o-y, i.e. by 0.5%, to 5 277.4 thousand persons.

    The number of working males decreased by 4.9 thousand persons and the number of working females decreased by 23.2 thousand persons.

    The number of employees decreased by 21.5 thousand to 4 389.9 thousand.

    Concurrently, the total number of the self-employed decreased by 6.4 thousand persons due to a drop in the number of the self-employed with employees by 13.7 thousand.

    The deepest decrease of the self-employed with employees was in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles and at the same time in the age group of 45–54 years.

    The employment rate (percentage of working persons in the age group 15–64 years) has been exceeding 75% for the first time in the history of independent Czech Republic since the middle of the year 2018.

    In the Q1 2020, the rate decreased by 0.2 percentage point (p. p.) to 74.8% compared to the Q1 2019. The male employment rate decreased by 0.1 p. p. to 81.6% and the female employment rate dropped by 0.3 p. p. to 67.8%.

  • How Albanian labour market looked in 2019

    How Albanian labour market looked in 2019

    • Over the year 2019, according to Albanian Labour Force Survey estimates, labour force in Albania is 1.430 thousand persons.
    • Females account for 44.4 % of the labour force and males for 55.6 % of it.

    Employed are 1,266 thousand persons, from which females account for 44.5 % and males for 55.5 %. The number of unemployed is estimated in 165 thousand persons, of which 44.0 % are females and 56.0 % are males.

    The labour force participation rate for the population aged 15-64 years old is 69.6 %. For male population aged 15-64, the labour force participation rate is 16.0 percentage points higher than females. The employment rate for the population aged 15-64 years old is 61.2 %. Employment rate for females
    is 54.4 % and for males is 68.2 %. The gender gap in employment for this age-group is 13.8 percentage points.

    The services and agricultural sectors have the highest share of employed with respectively 43.5 % and 36.4 % of the total employment. According to the 2019 survey estimates, it results that 45.7 % of employed are paid employees, 32.3 % are self-employed (with employees or without employees) and 22.0 % are contributing family workers.

    Unemployment rate decreased

    The official unemployment rate, for the population 15 years old and over, is 11.5 % decreasing by 0.8 percentage points compared to 2018. For males, the unemployment rate is 0.2 percentage points higher than for females.

    Youth (15-24 years old) unemployment rate is 27.2 %, (27.8 % for males and 26.3 % for females).

    Compared to the previous year, youth unemployment rate has decreased by 1.1 percentage points.

    Over the year 2019, youth aged 15-29 years old neither in employment nor in education or training account for 28.9 % of the same age group population.

  • 70% of employees want to continue working mostly from home

    70% of employees want to continue working mostly from home

    7 out of 10 Romanian employees want to continue to work mostly from home even after easing the measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus and after the state of emergency ends, according to Colliers International.

    Out of these, 60% believe that working remotely would be useful at least 1-2 days a week, and 10% would like to work even 3-4 days from home in the next period.

    Office buildings in the portfolio managed by Colliers International continued to be operational during the state of emergency, with no projects under conservation, so it is expected that activity will be resumed gradually starting May 18th.

    A quarter of employees expect to return to the office in May, but their work in office buildings will resume gradually, depending on the evolution of the coronavirus epidemic and further measures announced by the authorities. At the same time, it is expected that some companies will continue to apply remote working policies for a longer period, at least for employees who have children, in the context of suspending the activity of schools until fall.

    To ensure employees’ social distance within the office, employers need to consider some changes in the set-up of the space and furniture, especially in the case of open space offices. It is necessary to ensure a recommended distance of two linear meters between employees, which means that it will be necessary to increase the space allocated per employee from 8 square meters, which is currently the average in class A office buildings, at over 15 square meters per employee. In this context, some companies will have to allow a percentage of employees to continue working from home, so that the rules on social distance and rotation can be respected.

    New security measures in office buildings

    Measures that can be implemented by companies to prepare their offices for the return of employees include rotating offices from open spaces so that they do not face each other and directing the team to alternative office work areas. At the same time, temporary transparent plastic barriers can be installed in the reception areas to separate visitors from the reception desk, and high partitions can be installed in the offices between facing desks. Last but not least, in conference rooms, after removing a number of chairs, floor markings can be applied to indicate a safe 2 meters distance between seats, Colliers International consultants recommend.

    To reduce touching door handles, the doors of offices and conference rooms should be left open, unless there is an absolute need for privacy. There should also be signs in office buildings informing visitors about the distance rules, hand washing and sanitizing or wearing masks in public areas. Using signage, unique clockwise paths can be created through the space, and by adding arrow tape on the office floor, the recommended direction can be indicated.

    At the same time, building owners will have to regularly ensure complete sanitation of heating and cooling systems and air treatment plants, according to Colliers International consultants, as well as actions aimed to ensure periodic disinfection with an increased frequency and special solutions for sanitary and common areas. To align with the new hygiene rules, owners of office buildings will have an additional minimum cost of 2,000 euros per month for a medium-sized building.