Title page 1

Contents 4

Key Messages 6

CHAPTER 1. Labour market and social trends in the EU 23

CHAPTER 2. Employment and social reforms - Member States' performance and action 26

2.1. GUIDELINE 5 - BOOSTING THE DEMAND FOR LABOUR 26

2.1.1. Key indicators 26

2.1.2. Measures taken by Member States 37

2.2. GUIDELINE 6 - ENHANCING LABOUR SUPPLY AND IMPROVING ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT, LIFELONG ACQUISITION OF SKILLS AND COMPETENCES 39

2.2.1. Key indicators 39

2.2.2. Measures taken by Member States 61

2.3. GUIDELINE 7 - ENHANCING THE FUNCTIONING OF LABOUR MARKETS AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL DIALOGUE 66

2.3.1. Key indicators 66

2.3.2. Measures taken by Member States 81

2.4. GUIDELINE 8 - PROMOTING EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL, FOSTERING SOCIAL INCLUSION AND COMBATTING POVERTY 85

2.4.1. Key indicators 85

2.4.2. Measures taken by Member States 103

CHAPTER 3. First-stage analysis of the Social Convergence Framework 108

3.1. KEY HORIZONTAL FINDINGS 108

3.2. COUNTRY-SPECIFIC FIRST-STAGE ANALYSIS 114

Belgium 114

Bulgaria 115

Czechia 116

Denmark 117

Germany 118

Estonia 119

Ireland 120

Greece 121

Spain 122

France 123

Croatia 124

Italy 125

Cyprus 126

Latvia 127

Lithuania 128

Luxembourg 129

Hungary 130

Malta 131

The Netherlands 132

Austria 133

Poland 134

Portugal 135

Romania 136

Slovenia 137

Slovakia 138

Finland 139

Sweden 140

Annex 1. 2030 EU headline and national targets by Member State 142

Annex 2. Social scoreboard headline indicators 143

Annex 3. Social scoreboard headline indicators, levels 145

Annex 4. Social scoreboard headline indicators, changes and distance to EU 149

Annex 5. Regional breakdown of selected social scoreboard headline indicators 153

Annex 6. Classification of Member States based on the Social Scoreboard 163

Annex 7. Summary overview of the 'employment trends to watch' and number of Member States with deterioration or improvement as identified... 166

Annex 8. Summary overview of the number of Member States with deterioration ('social trends to watch') or improvement over 2023-2024... 167

Annex 9. Potential risks identified through the Social Scoreboard in various JER editions and counts of 'critical'/'to watch' situations for Member... 168

Tables 111

Table 3.1.1. Social Scoreboard: overview of challenges across Member States by headline indicator 111

Figures 23

Figure 1.1. Employment growth in 2024 was driven by increased participation of third-country nationals and older persons, and concentrated... 23

Figure 1.2. The poverty and social exclusion rate remains high, particularly for vulnerable groups 25

Figure 2.1.1. Employment continued to increase in most Member States in 2024 27

Figure 2.1.2. Unemployment decreased in nearly half of the Member States in 2024 32

Figure 2.1.3. Wages continued to rise in 2024, with significant cross-country differences 34

Figure 2.1.4. Real wages rebounded in 2024 across most Member States 34

Figure 2.1.5. Increases in statutory minimum wages supported offsetting purchasing power losses of minimum wage earners 35

Figure 2.1.6. In 2024, the tax wedge for a single person earning the average wage was lower than a decade earlier in most Member States 36

Figure 2.1.7. The tax wedge is lower for low-wage workers 37

Figure 2.2.1. Participation in ECEC continues to climb higher at EU level, but there is large variation across Member States 39

Figure 2.2.2. The share of early leavers from education and training continues to decrease slowly, with considerable differences across Member States 40

Figure 2.2.3. Underachievement in mathematics increased substantially across all Member States, while top performance decreased 41

Figure 2.2.4. Basic skills among disadvantaged pupils have fallen in the last decade 43

Figure 2.2.5. The proportion of young adults with tertiary education has grown in the last decade 44

Figure 2.2.6. Skills mismatches at the macroeconomic level continue to fall across the EU but vary across Member States 45

Figure 2.2.7. Adult learning has increased only slightly since 2016, with large variation across Member States 46

Figure 2.2.8. Workers in lower-skilled occupations are much less likely to participate in adult learning 48

Figure 2.2.9. Large cross-country differences are observed in digital skills of adults 49

Figure 2.2.10. Differences in NEET rates are declining but remain significant 51

Figure 2.2.11. In nearly all Member States, the NEET rate is higher among women 52

Figure 2.2.12. The gender employment gap has narrowed in most countries but remains significant and shows few signs of upward convergence... 55

Figure 2.2.13. Participation in early childhood education and care remains low in most Member States 57

Figure 2.2.14. Taxation contributes significantly to the inactivity trap for second earners 58

Figure 2.2.15. In many Member States, taxation provides disincentives for low-wage earners to work more hours 58

Figure 2.2.16. The disability employment gap remains wide, with a pronounced divergent trend among Member States 59

Figure 2.3.1. Over the last decade, the share of temporary employment has been decreasing, but substantial variation across Member States remains 66

Figure 2.3.2. The temporary employment shares for young people and women differ significantly across Member States 67

Figure 2.3.3. Transition rates to permanent contracts in the EU are characterised by significant heterogeneity among Member States 69

Figure 2.3.4. Involuntary temporary employment affects one in two temporary workers and in particular women and young people 70

Figure 2.3.5. The share of part-time employment has slightly decreased, while differences in its involuntary component remain strong across... 71

Figure 2.3.6. In-work poverty rate broadly stable in 2024 in the EU with significant differences across Member States 72

Figure 2.3.7. Future-oriented occupations show variation in relation to job quality according to the Eurofound definition 74

Figure 2.3.8. Long-term unemployment rates continued to decline in the large majority of Member States, showing overall upward convergence 75

Figure 2.3.9. Participation rates in active labour market policies continue to display large variation across countries 76

Figure 2.3.10. Expenditures on active labour market policies vary strongly across Member States 76

Figure 2.3.11. The coverage rate of unemployment benefits for short-term jobseekers was broadly stable in 2024, with differences across Member States 77

Figure 2.3.12. Significant differences exist in replacement rates across Member States, both at the initial and more advanced stages of unemployment 78

Figure 2.3.13. Social partners' involvement varies significantly across policy areas 79

Figure 2.4.1. Growth in gross disposable household income (GDHI) per capita increased for the EU with strong variation across Member States in 2024 85

Figure 2.4.2. The at-risk of poverty or social exclusion rate only slightly decreased in 2024 in the EU 86

Figure 2.4.3. Severe material and social deprivation slightly decreased, while the at-risk of poverty rate and the share of people living in (quasi)-jobless... 89

Figure 2.4.4. The at-risk-of poverty or social exclusion rate for children slightly declined in the EU 90

Figure 2.4.5. The depth of poverty slightly declined in the EU but was often greater for children than for the total population 91

Figure 2.4.6. The inability to keep home adequately warm declined in the EU in 2024 compared to the previous year, varying significantly across... 92

Figure 2.4.7. Income inequality continued to slightly decrease on average in the EU in 2024, but with some signs of divergence across Member States 93

Figure 2.4.8. Income inequalities in the EU fluctuated over the last fifteen years, but declined in most Member States after 2015 94

Figure 2.4.9. Adequacy of income support to jobless households receiving minimum income remains relatively low 95

Figure 2.4.10. Poverty risks remain high among (quasi-) jobless households 96

Figure 2.4.11. The share of people at risk of poverty, living in (quasi-)jobless households who are covered by social benefits shows wide variation... 96

Figure 2.4.12. The impact of social transfers (excluding pensions) on poverty reduction saw strong declines in some Member States 97

Figure 2.4.13. The share of population facing housing cost overburden varies considerably across Member States 99

Figure 2.4.14. There is wide variation across Member States in the share of social housing within the total housing stock 100

Figure 2.4.15. Older people (65+) face higher poverty risks than the working-age population, but are generally less exposed to severe material... 101

Figure 2.4.16. The ratio of LTC workers per 100 persons aged 65+ shows marginal improvements across the EU, with big variation across Member States 102

Figure 2.4.17. The prevalence of unmet needs for medical care was broadly stable at EU level, and increased slightly for most Member States,... 103

Figure 3.1.1. Overview of employment, skills and social trends and challenges by Social Scoreboard headline indicators 112

Boxes 113

Box 3.1.1. Methodological approach for identifying potential risks to upward social convergence in the first-stage country analysis on social convergence 113

Target Boxes 27

Target Box 1. Progress towards the 2030 employment rate target 27

Target Box 2. Progress towards the 2030 adult learning target 47

Target Box 3. Progress towards the 2030 poverty reduction target 87

Pillar Boxes 30

Pillar Box 1. The mid-term review of the Social Economy Action Plan 30

Pillar Box 2. The Union of Skills in focus – Building skills, upskilling and reskilling of adults 41

Pillar Box 3. The Union of Skills in Focus - Boosting STEM 50

Pillar Box 4. The integration of older people in the labour market in the EU 53

Pillar Box 5. The integration of migrants in the EU labour market 60

Pillar Box 6. Job quality dimensions in EU Member States 68

Pillar Box 7. Well-designed labour market, skills and social reforms and investments for economic growth, competitiveness and social cohesion 80

Annex Figures 153

Figure 1. Early leavers from education and training, 2024 153

Figure 2. Young people neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET), 2024 154

Figure 3. Gender employment gap, 2024 155

Figure 4. Income inequality measured as quintile share ratio - S80/S20, 2024 156

Figure 5. Employment rate, 2024 157

Figure 6. Unemployment rate, 2024 158

Figure 7. Long-term unemployment rate (12 months or more), 2024 159

Figure 8. People at risk of poverty or social exclusion, 2024 160

Figure 9. Impact of social transfers (other than pensions) on poverty reduction, 2024 161

Figure 10. Self-reported unmet needs for medical examination, 2024 162