Transformative EU 27 Labour Markets: Assessing Opportunities, Risks and Trends

The labour markets are in a transformative period due to increased uncertainty and overall volatility. Moreover, they show a socially biased fingerprint affecting the social and economic policies at the EU 27 level. The unemployment rate by 6.0% in the spring of 2024 (Eurostat) indicates that the dynamics become more complex on the background of skill shortages increase. All member states display a mixed image regarding the digital economy potential, and several issues have to be addressed for avoiding employment traps, and social discontent in times of the cost-of-living crisis. The paper uses a mixed methods approach to capture relevant quantitative and qualitative data on the transformative EU 27 labour market, with emphasis on countries of Central and Eastern Europe. A rough DEMATEL Z-score method is used to characterize the main interactions and relevant impact factors. The findings show that policy makers and stakeholders need to (re)focus on education to ensure research development and innovation competitiveness, as ‘blue collar’ jobs are increasing. A new emergent “triptych” government-business sector-society is required for reducing persistent polarization and inequalities.