09/10/2020 (Agence Europe) – In the second quarter of 2020, labour underutilisation in the EU affected 29.6 million people, or 14% of the labour force, compared to 12.8% in the first quarter of 2020, according to figures from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, published on Thursday 8 October. The highest increases were recorded in Ireland (+3.4%), Italy and Austria (+2.6%) and Spain (+2.4%). This would be the largest “quarterly shift” since 2008 and is exclusively due to the pandemic. A total of 40.9 million people were absent from work, an increase of 18.6 million from the first quarter. Hours worked have fallen drastically, especially for women. The most notable decreases were observed in Spain (-25.9%), Portugal (23.3%) and Greece (-21.0%). (PH)