Overview

The European Employment and Social Outlook (EESO) is an annual review series produced by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. The 2026 edition specifically investigates the socio-economic value of job quality, placing the analysis within the present context of structural shifts and geopolitical challenges. The report provides a comprehensive overview of labour market and social outcomes across the European Union, including employment trends, real wage recovery, and the easing of economic strain for households.

The review examines job quality through three primary dimensions that workers care about: earnings, job and career security, and working time quality. It provides a detailed breakdown of these factors across various sectors, identifying those with high-quality jobs, such as information technology and manufacturing, and those marked by weaker job quality, such as accommodation and food services. Furthermore, the report explores the impacts of the digital transition, particularly the uptake of artificial intelligence tools and algorithmic management, on working conditions and employee autonomy.

Purpose

The EESO exists to provide a clear and evidence-based assessment of the European Union’s progress in promoting employment, improving living standards, and combatting social exclusion, as required by Article 159 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). By investigating the bi-directional link between job quality and economic performance, the report aims to demonstrate that improving working conditions is not only a social objective but a central strategy for enhancing productivity and long-term economic growth.

The findings are designed to inform a variety of European and national policy initiatives, most notably the forthcoming Quality Jobs Act. This legislation aims to promote quality jobs across all sectors and regions by focusing on fair wages, quality working conditions, and stronger workers’ rights. The report also serves to highlight the vulnerabilities of specific groups—such as women, young people, and migrants—to poorer-quality occupations, thereby informing targeted social inclusion and training policies to ensure a competitive and resilient European economy.

Methodology

The report builds on the Employment Committee’s (EMCO) Job Quality Monitoring Framework, which evaluates thirteen distinct dimensions of work. The analysis primarily focuses on three pillars: adequate earnings and fair wages, job and career security, and working time. The assessment utilises specific indicators such as the share of low-wage earners, involuntary temporary employment rates, and atypical working hours. It also employs a cluster analysis to group occupations based on their scores across these quality dimensions.

The data presented in the report is drawn from multiple sources, including Eurostat’s EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) and the EU Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS). It also incorporates results from the 2024 European Working Conditions Survey and the AIM-WORK survey on AI prevalence. Methodological tools used for the analysis include continuous difference-in-differences designs to estimate the effects of minimum wages on productivity, and microsimulations using the EUROMOD tax-benefit model to predict how policy changes affect in-work poverty rates and household consumption patterns.

Use for finance professionals

Finance professionals can utilise this series to assess macroeconomic stability and labour market dynamics within the European Union. The report’s detailed data on nominal compensation per employee, unit labour costs, and real wage changes compared with pre-pandemic levels provides essential context for evaluating cost competitiveness across different Member States. This information is particularly relevant for analysts assessing industrial performance and identifying risks related to labour shortages and skills mismatches in strategic sectors like manufacturing and technology.

Furthermore, the investigation into the relationship between job security and consumption dynamics offers valuable insights for consumer market analysis. By understanding how employment insecurity amplifies the negative impact of economic shocks on discretionary spending, particularly for durable goods, finance professionals can better forecast domestic demand and inflationary pressures. The report also provides data on the adoption and frequency of AI use across different job clusters, helping professionals identify the industries best positioned to reap productivity gains from the digital transition.