The number of European workers on short-time working schemes trebled between 2008 and 2009 to almost 2m, according to a report from the 2010 Annual Report of the European Restructuring Monitor.

The report reveals many member states expanded their existing schemes, while others introduced them for the first time.

According to the research, working time reduction was particularly prevalent in Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, the UK and Sweden, contrasting with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Portugal, Slovenia, Hungary, Spain and Lithuania, where most of the net adjustment was due to job losses.