Employment Share of employment in Knowledge-intensive services in the Acceding
Countries still below EU average
(7/11/2003)
In 2002 there were 163 million people employed in the EU, of which 7.4% were
employed in high tech and medium-high tech manufacturing and 33.3% in
knowledge-intensive services (KIS). Employment in KIS is growing strongly in the
EU, with an annual average growth rate of 3.1% during the 1997-2002 period. High
tech and medium-high tech manufacturing grew, but more slowly, at an annual
average of 0.9% over the same period. Looking at the Acceding Countries,
employment in high tech and medium-high tech manufacturing ranged between 1.1%
and 9.2% of total employment. Proportions for KIS varied from 22.8% to 30.9%.
Annual average growth rates of employment for the period 1997-2002 varied
strongly among countries in both high tech and medium-high tech manufacturing
(from -10.7% to +25.4%) and KIS (from -1.0% to +8.0%). At regional level, 13 out
of the 20 leading regions in 2002 in high tech and medium-high tech
manufacturing were in Germany, while the United Kingdom dominated in KIS, with 6
of the 20 top regions. This information, and more, comes from a report issued
today by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, drawn
from the latest Community Labour Force Survey (CLFS) data.