[Brussels, 02 February 2012] More Europeans are working in care, and the demand for elderly care services is increasing, due to demographic ageing, greater gender equality, changing family ties and demand for higher-quality services. Although ‘white’ jobs in health, care and social services have potential to create jobs in Europe, until now political attention has focus on ‘green’ jobs.
The OECD estimates that the demand for care workers will double or triple between now and 2050. At the same time, there is already a shortage of workers in the care sector in countries such as the UK,
Finland and Germany.
Addressing this shortage and tapping on the employment potential of ‘white’ jobs requires addressing the structural problems of the care sector, which at the moment is predominantly female (four-fifths of workers are women). Studies have consistently pointed out the problems associated with relatively low pay for demanding work, lack of career prospects and unsocial working-time arrangements.
Robert Anderson from Eurofound, explores ‘white’ jobs, elderly care needs, the the increasing demand of care workers in an article ‘White jobs? Employment potential of the care sector.’ Read the full article below here.
