Introduction to the special issue on the impact of labour and skills shortages on industrial relations and human resource management

Advanced economies have experienced serious labour and skills shortages over the past decade, a process amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic (ILO, 2023; OECD, 2023). According to Eurofound (2025), employment policies are undergoing a paradigm shift as the European Union and other advanced economies face labour shortages rather than high unemployment levels. This is the case despite growing labour market participation, as the latter is not keeping up with employer demand. While these shortages can be observed throughout the labour market in several countries, they are particularly persistent in certain sectors, notably health and social care, accommodation and food services, information and communication technology services, and manufacturing and transport (Cedefop, 2024; Causa et al, 2022). Although the pandemic has exacerbated the problem, several more structural factors have been put forward to explain the labour shortage, such as population ageing and retirement, demand and skills gaps (particularly in relation to the digital and green twin transition), changing worker preferences, recruitment practices and migration trends (Feist, 2024; Cedefop, 2024; Riekhoff et al. 2024; Pouliakas et al. 2024; Martin 2024; Causa et al. 2022; ILO 2023; Niang et al. 2021). While the causes of labour and skills shortages have often been studied, their consequences, particularly for industrial relations (IR) and human resource management (HRM), have received less attention. The HRM literature has generally examined labour and skills shortages, recruitment difficulties and staff turnover by focussing on HRM practices designed to attract and retain employees (see, for example, Renaud et al. 2021; Haines et al. 2010). In the IR literature, tight labour markets are seen as a context offering workers the opportunity to rebalance power in their favour and improve wages (Budd, 2004; Zwysen, 2023). However, new data show that the impact of labour and skills shortages goes beyond wage increases, leading employers to implement practices aimed at making employment conditions more attractive, tapping into less exploited labour pools and improving the utilization of the existing workforce (Eurofound, 2024). Shortages have also been shown to affect the dynamics of collective bargaining, work organization, trade union affairs and employer organizations (Jalette, 2023a; Zwysen, 2023). Moreover, in many countries, social dialogue remains an effective means of addressing issues and challenges associated with labour and skills scarcity and shortages (see, for example, Kirov & Gazale, 2024; Jalette, 2023b). The aim of this special issue is to advance theoretical thinking and provide empirical evidence to deepen our understanding of the impact of labour and skills shortages and scarcity on IR and HRM in unionized and non-unionized workplaces. The articles highlight how social actors—workers, employers, unions, sectoral bodies and governments—are coping with and responding to labour and skills shortages. We launched a call for papers for this special issue of RI-IR on 14 October 2024. The response to this targeted call was excellent. We received a dozen manuscripts, all of which underwent anonymous review. We sincerely thank these peers who devoted their time and attention to carrying out this key task. Six (6) articles were ultimately selected. In keeping with the tradition of the journal and the IR discipline, the issue’s contributors examine the impact of labour and skills shortages from various perspectives, including public policy, workplace-level practices, international comparisons, labour market analysis, and social dialogue and collective bargaining. The added value of employing these approaches in the field lies in their use of empirical data and multiple levels of analysis (Connolly, 2023). Thus, issues related to labour shortages are relevant to public policy (macro) as well as to the practices of organized actors, social dialogue institutions and sectoral consultation bodies (meso), and to strategic responses …