Childcare and Social Inclusion Services in the EU: An Employment Analysis

The present paper explores the structure and size of employment in the childcare and social inclusion services sector in Europe. It focuses on employment in childcare and social work, two sectors with high relevance for social inclusion and changes related to the socio-ecological, societal and skill transitions. The analysis relies on data from official EU statistics and EU-wide surveys and provides an overview of the current situation (2011) and trends (2001-2011). Accounting for socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, age and education (skills), it investigates EU-wide and local employment levels and working conditions in the childcare and social inclusion services sector. It also investigates the development and extent of the rather large gender gaps – also gender pay gaps - in the observed sector, and if the growing sector can offer employment chances, especially for older workers