The deregulation of labour law in the European Union was thought to be a spur to lasting growth of employment and an increase in labour market efficiency. In particular, it was hoped that facilitating fixed-term contracts would help many Europeans out of continued unemployment and back into the workforce. Based on data from the European Labour Force Survey. This text reveals that the results of such policies have been far from those expected. This study provides a country by country overview of the legal regulations concerning employment protection and fixed-term employment in the 12 Member...