Flash Eurobarometer FL529 : European Year of Skills - Skills shortages, recruitment and retention strategies in small and medium-sized enterprises

Skilled workers are key to the success of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe according to the survey. 95% of all SMEs say that it is very (82%) or moderately (13%) important for their business model to have workers with the right skills. However, three quarters (74%) of SMEs in Europe say they concretely face skills shortages for at least one job role in their company at the moment. Also, nearly 4 in 5 companies say in the survey it is generally difficult for them to find workers with the right skills, and more than half of them (53%) find it difficult to retain skilled workers.

Processed data

Processed data files for the Eurobarometer surveys are published in .xlsx format.

• Volume A "Countries/EU"
  The file contains frequencies and means or other synthetic indicators including elementary bivariate statistics describing distribution patterns of (weighted) replies for each country or territory and for (weighted) EU results.
• Volume AP "Trends"
  The file compares to previous poll in (weighted) frequencies and means (or other synthetic indicators including elementary bivariate statistics describing distribution patterns of replies); shifts for each country or territory foreseen in Volume A and for (weighted) results.
• Volume AA "Groups of countries"
  The file contains (labelled) frequencies and means or other synthetic indicators including elementary bivariate statistics describing distribution patterns of (weighted) replies for groups of countries specified by the managing unit on the part of the EC.
• Volume AAP "Trends of groups of countries"
  The file contains shifts compared to the previous poll in (weighted) frequencies and means (or other synthetic indicators including elementary bivariate statistics describing distribution patterns of replies); shifts for each groups of countries foreseen in Volume AA and for (weighted) results.
• Volume B "EU/socio-demographics"
  The file contains (labelled) frequencies and means or other synthetic indicators including elementary bivariate statistics describing distribution patterns of replies for the EU as a whole (weighted) and cross-tabulated by some 20 sociodemographic, socio-political or other variables, depending on the request from the managing unit on the part of the EC or the managing department of the other contracting authorities.
• Volume BP "Trends of EU/socio-demographics"
  The file contains shifts compared to the previous poll in (weighted) frequencies and means (or other synthetic indicators including elementary bivariate statistics describing distribution patterns of replies); shifts for each country or territory foreseen in Volume B above)and for (weighted) results.
• Volume C "Country/socio-demographics"
  The file contains (labelled) weighted frequencies and means or other synthetic indicators including elementary bivariate statistics describing distribution patterns of replies for each country or territory surveyed separately and cross-tabulated by some 20 socio-demographic, socio-political or other variables (including a regional breakdown).

For SPSS files and questionnaires, please contact GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences: https://www.gesis.org/eurobarometer