Today, 80% of small and medium-sized enterprises in the European Union face difficulties finding workers with the right skills.

Omissions

• The 80% figure comes from Eurofound survey data collected in 2023 (European Survey of Enterprises / European Company Survey reporting), i.e. data roughly three years older than the 'today' framing of the claim made on 2026-10-20.
• A more recent European Commission Eurobarometer (published 2026-06-01, before the session date) reports that 46% of EU SMEs say finding staff with the right skills has been difficult or very difficult over the past 24 months — a stricter question wording, but a substantially lower headline share than the 80% cited.
• The MEP cites no source or year, so listeners cannot tell that the figure is a 2023 survey result and that different surveys with different wordings produce very different shares (e.g. ~70% in the September 2023 Eurobarometer on the European Year of Skills, 46% in the 2026 Eurobarometer on recruiting third-country nationals).
• The 80% covers 'difficulties' broadly (including moderate difficulty) rather than severe shortage, which inflates the impression of an acute, universal shortage.

Sources

• PrimaryEurofound — Living and Working in Europe 2024, Chapter 2: Missing skills, lost opportunities"In 2023, 80% of surveyed SMEs reported difficulties finding workers with the right skills (Figure 7)."
• PrimaryEurofound — Data catalogue: SMEs facing difficulties finding workers with the right skills, EU Member States, 2023"Figure 15: SMEs facing difficulties finding workers with the right skills, EU Member States, 2023 (% of SMEs)."
• PrimaryEurofound — Company practices to tackle labour shortages"Around 80% of EU employers struggle to recruit workers with the right skills. The skills of one in three employees are mismatched with their job."
• PrimaryEuropean Commission (DG EMPL) — Eurobarometer highlights obstacles and opportunities for European SMEs recruiting outside the EU"A new Eurobarometer survey reveals that 46% of European small and medium-sized enterprises face challenges in finding workers with the right skills."
• PrimaryEurobarometer — Barriers for European SMEs in recruiting workers from outside the EU (survey detail 3365)"Nearly half of all SMEs (46%) reported that finding staff with the right skills has been difficult or very difficult over the past 24 months."