The possibility of finding a permanent job decreased slightly between 2002 and 2017, as the share of temporary employees in the EU increased from 11 % in 2002 to 13 % in 2017. The proportion of women in temporary employment in the EU in 2017 (14 %) was almost the same as the proportion of men (13 %). The total share of temporary employees varied among the Member States, with the highest shares observed in Poland and Spain (both 26 %), Portugal (22 %) and Croatia (20 %), and the lowest in Romania (1 %), Lithuania (2 %), Estonia and Latvia (both 3 %).

The growth of part-time work represents another significant change in working conditions. The share of people working part-time in the EU rose from 15 % in 2002 to 19 % in 2017. Part-time employment was much more common among women (31 %) than men (8 %) in the EU in 2017. The total share of part-time workers varied among the Member States, with the highest proportions observed in the Netherlands (47 %), Austria (28 %), Germany (27 %), Belgium and the United Kingdom (both 24 %), and the lowest in Bulgaria (2 %), Hungary (4 %) and Croatia (5 %).

Do you want to know more about how employment patterns and a wide range of other economic issues have changed since the start of the millennium? Then take a look at the new digital publication The European economy since the start of the millennium!

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