Cross-National Differences in Workers' Perceived Job, Labour Market, and Employment Insecurity in Europe: Empirical Tests and Theoretical Extensions

Despite the theoretical and political importance of perceived worker insecurity in Europe, theoretical and empirical foci on post-industrial economies leave the literature wanting of explanations of cross-national variation in this insecurity and its different forms. Synthesizing and extending the ‘Varieties of Capitalism’ (VoC) approach and Power Resources Approach (PRA), this study derives and tests hypotheses in 27 European Union (EU) countries concerning the cross-national variation in workers’ perceived insecurity about their jobs (job insecurity), their immediate labour market opportunities if they are laid off (labour market insecurity), and the combination of the two (employment insecurity). According to the results from hierarchical linear models of 2006 Eurobarometer data linked to country-level data, average levels of worker insecurity are generally greater in countries with (i) higher unemployment, (ii) lower unionization, (iii) Socialist traditions, (iv) lower rates of part-time work, and (v) higher levels of perceived corruption. The VoC approach and PRA anticipate the first two findings, but the rest confirm the need for theoretical and empirical extensions. Our model, however, is better suited to explain the cross-national variation in perceived job and employment insecurity than labour market security, which may be due to the role of EU integration in opening up labour market opportunities outside of workers’ home countries.