Trends in Job Quality during the Great Recession and the Debt Crisis (2007-2012): A Comparative Approach for the EU

This paper focuses on the consequences of the crisis on job quality in Europe. Its aim is twofold: first, to compare trends in job quality in the EU during the first and the second phase of the crisis (2007-2009 and 2010-2012); secondly, to explore the link between these trends and cyclical as well as institutional factors. It builds on dynamic indicators calculated at the individual level. They account for individual transitions in terms of job quality during the two phases of the crisis, using EU-SILC panel data. Three different options are distinguished for each individual over the two stages of the crisis: 1) a decrease in job quality, 2) no change or an increase in job quality or 3) a transition to non-employment. Using multi-level logistic regressions, the paper assesses the contribution of both individual and country-level characteristics (institutions and business-cycle indicators) to a possible deterioration in job quality during both stages. It shows that some socio-economic groups are more affected by decreasing trends in job quality (other things being equal). At the macroeconomic level, cross-country heterogeneity in job quality trends can be related to economic trends (unemployment variation), to employment distribution by sectors and to some labor market institutions (employment protection legislation, public expenditure per unemployed etc.).