"(...) The geographic area covered by this study includes 30 countries and regions including 25 EU Member States,
three autonomous Belgian regions1 and Norway and Switzerland. The data on shortage occupations was provided
by the EURES National Coordinating Offices (NCOs) in all 27 countries and the three Belgian regions and the data
on surplus occupations by the NCOs in 24 countries and one Belgian region. In general, the data refers to the latter
half of 2020 and the first quarter of 20212. Many of the findings of this report are consistent with the impact of
major economic and social trends such as the green agenda, the rapid and widespread diffusion of digital
technologies, and the ageing of the European population. A discussion on labour shortages and surpluses in times
of the COVID-19 pandemic is also included. The report provides detail on the nature of labour shortages and
surpluses including their extent and severity, and the profile of those who were working in these shortage and
surplus occupations in the EU in 2020. That profile includes their education attainment and gender. An illustrative
exploration is also undertaken of the relationship between labour mobility and imbalances of shortages and
surpluses across countries. While the initial results suggest that migrants may make a positive contribution to
alleviating labour shortages, more data is required to test whether the results are statistically significant. (...)" |