During 2013-14, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) helped a total of 27 610 workers, who had been dismissed due to the economic crisis and the effects of globalisation, to find new job opportunities.

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 A report adopted today shows that, during this period, the EGF provided more than €114.4 million to assist workers in 13 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Spain) in their transition and towards new job opportunities. The EGF funding was matched by another €94.1 million from national resources.

The EGF report gives an overview of applications for support measures made in 2013-2014 and also includes results from previous cases from 2010-2012 for which final reports were received in 2013-2014. It shows that half the workers (7,656 out of 15,245) who participated in the EGF measures found new jobs or became self-employed. An additional 667 people were at that time in education or training to increase their future employability. Member States reported that the personal situation, employability and self-confidence of the workers concerned had visibly improved thanks to the EGF assistance and services.

The results in terms of re-integration into employment are encouraging, given the difficult labour market situation in most Member States, and considering that the EGF supports workers in particularly difficult circumstances. Many measures concern mass lay-offs in a specific territory, often already suffering from high unemployment rates. It is also to be noted that the supported workers are often low-skilled or had other disadvantages as jobseekers.