This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the organisations involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the personal services (hair and beauty) sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted and their capacity to negotiate agreements. The aim of Eurofound’s studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the sector. This study identifies UNI Europa Hair & Beauty, representing workers, and Coiffure EU, representing employers, as the most representative European-level social partner organisations in the personal services sector.

The approach of EU governments towards minimum wages started to change from the turn of the century and national minimum wages have risen sharply, particularly since the mid-2010s, becoming more binding and shaping wage dynamics more broadly. Drawing on recent Eurofound research, this policy brief examines how national minimum wage increases may affect employees’ pay levels, wage inequality, collective bargaining and the wider employment structure. Findings show sizeable knock-on effects along the wage distribution, a compression of wage inequality at the bottom (especially following large hikes in national minimum wages), a narrowing gap with collectively agreed wage floors, and an association with a shift towards higher-paid jobs in the employment structure. However, a national minimum wage should not be seen as a standalone solution to poverty or broader inequalities, while its possible disemployment effects also need to be considered.

This report examines trends in employment in low-paid jobs and whether minimum wage policies influenced employment structures across the EU Member States between 2001 and 2024. Using a jobs-based framework and harmonised EU data, the analysis starts with a description of employment trends in selected low-paid jobs and in the whole employment structure, where patterns of upgrading and, to a lesser extent, polarisation emerge across Member States. The analysis then examines the effects of minimum wages on the distribution of employment across sectors and occupations and on the wage distribution. The results of an econometric analysis indicate that increases in real minimum wage levels may be linked to an upgrading of the employment structure. The analysis also finds that increasing the minimum wage reduces inequality at the lower end of the wage distribution, although no robust systematic relationship between minimum wages and wage inequality was identified. 

This year’s annual review presents the discussions around minimum wage setting that took place in the EU Member States and Norway during 2025 and led to the new rates for 2026. It includes information on countries with and without a national minimum wage. It provides data on the significant progress on national minimum wages over the past decade; minimum wages have typically outperformed inflation and there have been increases in average wages in most countries. In addition, the report discusses the recent ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the EU Minimum Wage Directive, recent national initiatives linked to the directive’s transposition and the growing relevance of indicative reference values when setting national minimum wages in Member States. Using data from collective agreements and qualitative sources, it also provides evidence on the ways in which the rising levels of national minimum wages influence collective bargaining on wages in low-paid sectors.

This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the organisations involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the agriculture sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted and their capacity to negotiate agreements. The aim of Eurofound’s studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the sector. This study identifies the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT), representing employees, and the Employers’ Group of Professional Agricultural Organisations in the European Union / Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations in the European Union (GEOPA-COPA), representing employers, as the most representative European-level social partner organisations in the agriculture sector.

This year’s annual review presents the discussions around minimum wage setting that took place in the EU Member States and Norway during 2025 and led to the new rates for 2026. It includes information on countries with and without a national minimum wage. It provides data on the significant progress on national minimum wages over the past decade; minimum wages have typically outperformed inflation and there have been increases in average wages in most countries. In addition, the report discusses the recent ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the EU Minimum Wage Directive, recent national initiatives linked to the directive’s transposition and the growing relevance of indicative reference values when setting national minimum wages in Member States. Using data from collective agreements and qualitative sources, it also provides evidence on the ways in which the rising levels of national minimum wages influence collective bargaining on wages in low-paid sectors.

The European Commission has launched the second-phase consultation with European social partners on the upcoming Quality Jobs Act. The initiative aims to improve working conditions, health and safety and workers’ rights across the EU.Ευρω

Today, Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, Roxana Mînzatu received the first conclusions of the European Skills High-Level Board [21], presented by its Chair, Ylva Johansson. 

A new EU survey shows that Europeans view vocational education and training (VET) as a fast track to attractive and well-paid job opportunities.

Over the past year, national minimum wages continued to rise substantially across the EU, especially in central and eastern European countries, continuing the narrowing of regional disparities. The EU Minimum Wage Directive has emerged as a significant driver of minimum wage hikes in many countries, which have exceeded inflation levels and increased faster than collectively agreed wage floors in many low-paid sectors.