Youth unemployment is one of the principal social and economic challenges of this decade in Europe and around the world. Long spells of unemployment can have serious long-term effects for individuals, such as reduced earnings and social exclusion. It is estimated that one year of unemployment...

The population and labour force in the European Union are ageing. The proportion of the population in the EU-27 who are aged 55 and over rose from 25 % in 1990 to 30 % in 2010, and is estimated to reach 37 % by 2030 (Eurostat, 2012). Consequently, the workforce is also getting older – the...

Disability impacts a large number of people – approximately 16 % of the working age population in the EU is afflicted with a long-standing health problem or disability (European Commission, 2007). And this number will grow as the population ages in industrialised countries due to the...

This policy brief was produced by the OECD and the European Commission on sustaining entrepreneurship activities by entrepreneurs in under-represented and disadvantaged groups. It provides evidence on business survival for entrepreneurs from groups that are under-represented or disadvantaged in...

This Policy Brief explains what entrepreneurial networks are, and how disadvantaged or under-represented groups can join them. Online networks in particular offer the added advantage of removing physical distances. The document also shows that by linking target groups with the business...

This paper examines the experiences of self-employed online freelancers working on digital labour platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is based on interviews with freelancers and platform managers and experts in Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. Their experiences during...