“Not so much a shortage of skills as a shortage of pay”

Europe’s economies weathered the pandemic relatively well but new crises have quickly followed. Covid-19 exacerbated some structural shortages on the labour market via a surge in demand for goods and services. Companies are clamouring for workers and struggling to fill vacancies…

The sectors where vacancy rates have risen most within EU member states (data lacking for France) are characterised by a higher-than-average share of workers on insecure contracts, working under high pressure and to tight deadlines and more often unsocial hours…

Importantly, this takes account of how workers and firms differ, controlling for occupation, education, gender, age and company size. It shows very clearly the inverse relationship between pay and the extent to which shortages have increased…

In this crisis both companies and workers must be supported, but it is important that the opportunity is also taken to improve working lives and not to sustain poor conditions and low pay. It is crucial to ensure that all jobs offer good enough conditions for workers to live dignified lives, which in turn will attract more workers to these occupations…