Lukasz Arendt (p)

Jurgena Myftiu

Identification of new/emerging skills needs is considered to be crucial to prevent skill gaps and shortages, to foster employability of citizens and to meet needs of the economy in the European Union (Cedefop, 2014). However, it should be stated that the notion of emerging skills is a very diverse phenomenon that lacks a clear definition. Cedefop (2014, p.75) defines emerging/new skills as these including abilities for which demand is increasing in existing or new occupations. The Australian National Skills Commission (Emerging roles, 2024) understands emerging roles as those that have appeared in Australian labour market data for the first time in recent years or that have been rapidly gaining importance.
To understand the essence of emerging skills, it is crucial to identify the key factors influencing the labour market that contribute to the development of these skills. These factors include globalization, demographic shifts, migration, and technological advancements (see i.e. Hogarth, 2019). The problem of identifying emerging skills in the empirical studies is usually addressed by the token of identification of emerging jobs, and then analysing skills-mix requirements in these jobs (see Napierala and Kvetan, 2022).
The paper employs original method to identify emerging skills and jobs across 27 European Union member states. Emerging skills are captured on the basis of online job advertisements published between 2019 and 2024 and provided by Lightcast. The analysis shows noticeable differences in the emerging skills patterns across EU countries, with a crucial role of digital (including AI-related) transformation shaping the demand for new skills.

Paola Bertazzoni, Annamaria Bianchi, Jurgena Myftiu (p)

Uliana Koriugina

This study explores the critical and multidimensional phenomenon of work flexibility in Europe from the perspective of workers, with the aim of providing a comprehensive understanding. To this end, the research introduces a robust composite indicator based on a novel theoretical framework that integrates dimensions not previously combined in the current literature. Work flexibility is analysed through seven key pillars: part-time work, location flexibility, irregular and unconventional working hours, work-life balance and related factors. Utilising data from the European Working Conditions Survey for the years 2015 and 2021, the study employs two non-compensatory methods (the adjusted Mazziotta Pareto index and the geometric mean) to construct the composite indicator. The composite indicator demonstrates that location flexibility emerges as the most influential factor shaping work flexibility in different national contexts. By integrating theoretical insights and empirical analysis, this study provides an essential tool for understanding the evolution of work flexibility and offers actionable insights for policymakers and organisations aiming to enhance workplace adaptability in a changing world. Moreover, composite index rankings reveal that flexibility varies significantly across nations due to cultural and structural labour market differences. Between 2015 and 2021, shifts in rankings indicate that some countries struggled to maintain previous levels of flexibility, suggesting that implemented measures were insufficient. Regional disparities are evident: Northern and Western Europe exhibit high, employee-centred flexibility, supported by strong institutional frameworks, while Southern and Eastern Europe show greater variability, with some countries experiencing declining flexibility due to job instability and labour market fragmentation, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Uliana Koriugina (p)

Jacopo Tramontano

Scholars in urban economics have prominently paid attention to the questions of, firstly, wage differentials across labour markets, study of which was further continued in study of aspects of urban wage premium, and, secondly, the interarea differences that are found not only in price levels but also in non-price consumption, i.e. in consumption of available urban amenities. While researchers studying urban wage premium focus on the sources of the premia that underlie in agglomeration economies, they usually account for cost of living differentials applying price indices. Whereas researchers exploring differentials of cost of living emphasize that price indices do not fully reflect utility levels of workers as the latter may have different consumption levels and heterogeneity in tastes. That creates a gap in the field: while there have been major contributions to the understanding of urban wage premium, little is said about whether real urban wage premium reflects the real wage differentials, or not. We need further exploration of interarea differences in available goods and amenities, as it would allow not only to adjust wages to area price and non-price costs but also to explore the effects agglomeration has on aggregated costs of living.
This work aims to propose a new approach of interarea differentials estimation applying RLMS-HSE microdata for Russian urban and non-urban areas. Our methodology, on the one hand, is based on the limited available microdata about workers characteristics, their consumption and local price levels. On the other hand, RLMS-HSE data allows us to obtain detailed consumption characteristics, as well as available area amenities and living conditions, all of which we can apply to estimate costs of living with account for heterogeneity in tastes. Then we provide estimations of the real urban wage premium for Russian cities of different sizes applying several OLS regression models that include price and non-price area costs.

Donato Cutolo, Jacopo Tramontano (p), Valeria Cirillo, Dario Guarascio, Martin Kenney

Evangelos Rasvanis

As the platform economy continues to reshape the way we live, work, and consume, firms across industries increasingly turn to platform-mediated marketplaces to engage with customers. Although prior research highlights how platform-based firms develop strategic responses to cope with risks and vulnerabilities stemming from platform power, it tends to overlook how such uncertainty may alter internal organizational structures. In this study, we examine how reliance on digital platforms influences firms’ employment practices. Drawing on a comprehensive dataset from the Digital Platform Survey (DPS), administered by Italy’s National Institute for Public Policy Analysis (INAPP) to over 20,000 hotels and restaurants, we find that platform participation has a statistically significant correlation with the use of non-standard employment relationships (NSERs). Specifically, companies that rely on platforms for customer acquisition exhibit roughly 4% higher share of NSERs compared to those that do not. Multiple tests indicate that this effect varies according to structural characteristics, competitive strategies, and contextual factors that expose firms to higher (or lower) levels of dependence on platforms—findings that support our conjecture of a coping mechanism under platform-induced uncertainty. Our study advances the literature on how firms respond to the risks of platform-based intermediation and contributes to ongoing debates about the labor implications of digital intermediation. As platformization intensifies across sectors, these insights carry important implications for both organizational scholars and policymakers.

Evangelos Rasvanis (p)

Lukasz Arendt

The labour market plays a major role in shaping the economic success of regions within the European Union’s 27 (EU-27) member-states. Factors such as unemployment, labour productivity and workforce composition directly influence a region’s economic performance. Elevated unemployment levels often indicate that both human and material resources, along with the available workforce, are being underutilised or inefficiently allocated, which consequently diminishes overall productivity, lowers consumption, and slows down regional economic growth. Conversely, allocating financial resources to education and skills training, while simultaneously enhancing the productivity levels of workers, fosters the generation of innovative concepts, strengthens regional competitiveness and promotes sustainable economic growth. This study investigates how labour market conditions and demographic shifts have influenced economic performance in the EU-27 regions from 2003 to 2022, highlighting variations based on each region’s developmental stage. Using data from Eurostat's regional database and the European Commission's annual regional database (ARDECO), and employing quantile regressions, this research finds that labour market effects vary across regions. Unemployment hits low- and middle-income regions hardest, making their economies more fragile when jobs are scarce. In these places, a lack of work slows down progress and recovery. However, investing in education and training throughout life pays off in poorer regions by boosting skills and productivity, though the benefits are smaller in richer, more developed areas. Labour productivity stands out as a key factor for growth in all regions, especially helping economies thrive. In wealthier regions, jobs in science and technology have an even bigger impact, boosting innovation and strength. Population factors, such as population density or whether the population of an area is growing or shrinking, also shape economic results. Densely populated regions tend to perform better due to higher levels of economic activity, while areas with declining populations often face challenges in securing an adequate workforce. These findings point to the need for policies that fit each region’s needs to reduce gaps between them. In less affluent regions, prioritizing investments in education and innovation can enhance productivity, while in more prosperous regions, ensuring that wage increases align with productivity gains supports economic development. In addition, the age dependency ratio negatively impacts GDP per capita, particularly in wealthier regions, as it places strain on the working population. By addressing these disparities, policymakers can foster a stronger, more equitable economy across the EU-27, reducing inequalities and enhancing overall economic performance.