IMPACTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE LABOUR MARKETS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES

The article begins by presenting the pandemic context and the implications for the EU labour market, and then analyses the evolution of labour supply and demand, through the prism of three macroeconomic indicators: the employment rate, the unemployment rate and the index of hours actually worked, based on data provided by Eurostat and Statista. The emphasis is on describing the measures taken at Member State level to combat the social effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as on the EU's efforts to step up the implementation of the objectives of the European Pillar of Social Rights, namely: (1) Workforce and employment; (2) Skills and innovation; (3) Welfare State and social protection, at the Porto Social Summit, on7 May 2021. The conclusions and recommendations of the research focus on capitalizing on the challenges of the pandemic crisis and transforming them into new opportunities for development, innovation and new job creation, such as digitalization and the implementation of a sustainable economy based on green energy.