NEWS

Find out how much the EU benefits from globalization and how it addresses any negative impact on employment.

Globalization creates job opportunities, but it can also cause job losses. Managing globalization to make the most of it is a priority for the EU, as is building a social Europe that helps laid-off workers to find new jobs.

Globalization creates job opportunities in Europe

The number of jobs directly or indirectly supported by EU exports outside the Union is constantly growing. It increased from 21.7 million jobs in 2000 to 36 million jobs in 2017. Each billion EU exports support on average around 13,000 EU jobs.

Job opportunities are not limited to exporting companies, but are extended to companies that supply goods and services to them.

For example, in Spain, exports outside the EU support 1.8 million jobs. Thanks to the EU single market, an additional 300,000 Spanish jobs depend on exports from other EU countries to non-EU countries. In total, 1 in 10 jobs in Spain depends on EU exports.

The proportion of highly skilled workers in export-related jobs is increasing and export-related jobs are on average 12% better paid than other jobs.

The negative impact of globalization on employment

Globalization generates greater competition among companies, which can lead to closures, relocations and job losses.

The most vulnerable sectors of the EU are usually those that hold positions that require little qualification such as the textile, clothing, footwear and leather industries, or the treatment of basic metals and manufactured metal products and manufacturing industries.

Manufacturing industries are more exposed to relocation to countries with cheap labor.

While relocation is a central element of the globalization debate, the data shows that the amount of job losses due to relocation in the EU is declining.

Offshoring trends are changing and now it happens more in the countries of Eastern Europe than in the western Member States. The destination countries are in North Africa and Asia.

While the overall results of international trade liberalization are positive, some sectors are greatly affected and the length of the adjustment period that workers need to relocate to other sectors can significantly reduce the initial benefits.

The European Globalization Adjustment Fund (EGF)

To reduce the negative impact of globalization and reduce unemployment, the EU created the European Globalization Adjustment Fund in 2006. It aims to provide support to laid-off workers who lost their jobs due to globalization.

This solidarity solidarity fund co-finances up to 60% of labor policies to re-hire workers or start businesses. Projects financed by FEAG involve education and training, professional advice, help in finding work, mentoring and business creation.

In 2009, the fund was expanded to cover job losses resulting from the main structural changes caused by the economic and financial crisis.

The fund can be used when more than 500 workers have been laid off by a single company and its suppliers, or when a large number of workers lose their jobs in a specific sector in one or more neighboring regions.

Since 2007, the EGF has dedicated 630 million euros to help around 150,000 laid-off workers and 3,369 young people.

• For example, the fund allocated 720,000 euros to help 303 former garment industry employees find new jobs in Spain.