It might sound paradoxical, but for many employees across Europe, temporary work is a constant condition.
Around one in 11 workers in the EU is in INE — short for involuntary non-standard employment. This is according to Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
Being in INE means people are stuck jumping from one part-time, fixed-term or gig-economy job to the next, because they can’t find stable alternatives, like a permanent, full-time contract.
Eurofound says the real number of people in INE could be even higher than one in 11, with young workers particularly affected.
Europe appears to be split into three distinct groups when it comes to INE.
The countries with the most unstable job markets, in that sense, are all in the Mediterranean area, except for Finland.
Italy tops the list, with almost one in five workers involuntarily on temporary or part-time contracts, and the largest EU-wide growth in this type of employment since 2006 (+6%).
Spain follows closely in overall INE jobs, with 17%, while Cyprus, Portugal and Greece all come in above 12%.
The lowest rates were found in a central-eastern European bloc with relatively recent EU members. Then there is a cluster of wealthier countries — Austria, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland — with a more balanced ratio ranging between 4% and 5%.
Who is the typical INE worker?
People in unstable jobs are “disproportionately concentrated among blue-collar workers with primary education”, according to Eurofound.
Around Europe, the average has barely budged over the past two decades, falling from 11% in 2006 to around 9% in 2024, after peaking at 13% in 2015.
Women are more exposed than men, with the most pronounced gender gaps in France and Germany, and the smallest divides instead in the UK, Poland and Lithuania.
Eurofound blames this discrepancy on “direct labour market discrimination”, explaining that some temporary contracts might even be used as “screening devices for workers whose commitment employers perceive as uncertain due to family responsibilities”.
How are Poland and Spain tackling job uncertainty?
Poland and Spain have two things in common. Both are among Europe’s fastest-growing economies and also have measures aimed at stabilising the job market.
Poland saw the bloc’s steepest decline in INE jobs over the past two decades, from almost 22% in 2006 to just 7% in 2024.
That’s thanks to labour code changes that, since 2016, have restricted the use of temporary contracts and raised their taxation, making them less attractive to employers.
Spain addressed the issue by introducing a permanent contract for seasonal or intermittent workers — baristas, farmers, hotel staff — called fijo discontinuo. It’s a cyclical, temporary contract that renews every year, with no expiry date. When the “high season” begins again, the employer is legally compelled to call the employee back to work.
Other countries that have shown relevant downward trends are Germany and the three Baltic states.
Part-time lovers: Where are shorter working weeks popular?
At the same time, there is a handful of countries where INE contracts — specifically, part-time arrangements — are a deliberate choice made by workers.
In the Netherlands, 45% of part-time workers voluntarily chose that over a full-time contract. These kinds of arrangements are both “widespread and culturally embedded”, researchers say.
Neighbouring Belgium shows a 25% rate, following the introduction of the “time-credit system”, a series of laws aimed at increasing work flexibility, “to help workers combine their career with their family life”, said the Université catholique de Louvain in a study.
Along the same lines, Eurofound says that part-time can improve work–life balance and support labour market participation among groups with significant care responsibilities