Archive:Food and beverage services statistics - NACE Rev. 2
- Data from April 2012. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article presents an overview of statistics for the food and beverage services sector in the European Union (EU), as covered by NACE Rev. 2 Division 56.
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(% share of sectoral total) - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
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Main statistical findings
Structural profile
There were almost 1.5 million enterprises that reported having food and beverage services (Division 56) as their principal activity in the EU-27 in 2009. They employed 7.6 million persons, equivalent to 5.7 % of the total number of persons employed in the non-financial business economy (Sections B to J and L to N and Division 95) and just over three quarters (76.8 %) of those employed within accommodation and food services (Section I). The food and beverage services sector generated EUR 125 028 million of value added which was 2.2 % of the non-financial business economy total or two thirds (66.9 %) of the accommodation and food services total.
With a higher share of the non-financial business economy workforce than of its value added, the apparent labour productivity of the EU-27's food and beverage services sector in 2009 was, at EUR 16 thousand per person employed, considerably below the non-financial business economy average of EUR 41.6 thousand per person employed. Indeed, this was the lowest level of apparent labour productivity among any of the NACE divisions that make-up the non-financial business economy. Note that this indicator is based on a head count of employment and that there is a relatively high propensity to employ persons on a part-time basis within the food and beverage services sector – as such, a simple count of employment is likely to over-state labour input, resulting in a comparatively low apparent labour productivity ratio.
Average personnel costs within the EU-27’s food and beverage services sector were also very low when compared with other activities: EUR 14.6 thousand per employee for food and beverage services compared with an average of EUR 30.0 thousand per employee for the whole of the non-financial business economy. As such, food and beverage services recorded the second lowest level of average personnel costs per employee across those NACE divisions that constitute the non-financial business economy, higher only than wearing apparel manufacturing (Division 14).
The wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio combines the two previous indicators and shows the extent to which value added per person employed covers average personnel costs per employee. Given that this indicator is based on expenditure rather than a headcount of labour input, it is more relevant for comparisons across activities or countries where there are different incidences of part-time employment or self-employment. Nevertheless, the EU-27’s food and beverage services sector reported a relatively low wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio of 112.1 % in 2009, compared with the non-financial business economy average of 138.8 %. Indeed, this was the ninth lowest value for wage-adjusted labour productivity across the NACE divisions that compose the non-financial business economy.
The gross operating rate shows the relationship between the gross operating surplus and turnover). The gross operating rate for the EU-27’s food and beverage services sector in 2009 was 11.1 %, which was slightly higher than the non-financial business economy average (9.7 %).
Sectoral analysis
More than half (55.1 %) of all the enterprises within the EU-27’s food and beverage services sector were classified as belonging to the restaurants and mobile food services (Group 56.1) subsector. Beverage serving activities (Group 56.3) accounted for the vast majority of the remaining enterprises (40.6 %), while the event catering and other food services (Group 56.2) subsector had a share of food and beverage services enterprises that was below 5 %.
In output terms, the relative importance of restaurants and mobile food services was even greater, accounting for 61.3 % of sectoral value added, almost three times as high as the share for beverage serving activities (22.5 %), while the share for event catering and other food services was 16.2 %. The distribution of employment between the three different subsectors showed that restaurants and mobile food services accounted for 59.7 % of the sectoral workforce, while 27.3 % of the workforce were engaged within beverage serving activities and some 13.1 % within event catering and other food services.
The low apparent labour productivity for the whole of the food and beverage services sector was pulled downwards, in particular, by beverage serving activities, where EU-27 apparent labour productivity was EUR 13 thousand per person employed in 2009. This low level of apparent labour productivity was less than one third of the non-financial business economy average (EUR 41.6 thousand per person employed) and resulted in beverage serving activities recording the second lowest level of productivity (using this measure) across any of the NACE groups that compose the non-financial business economy.
Average personnel costs per employee reached EUR 17.9 thousand per employee for the EU-27’s event catering and other food service activities subsector in 2009, EUR 14.7 thousand per employee for restaurants and mobile food service activities and EUR 12.2 thousand per employee for beverage serving activities. As such, beverage serving activities recorded the lowest level of average personnel costs among any of the NACE groups in the non-financial business economy. All three food and beverage services subsectors were ranked within the bottom 15 NACE groups, as restaurants and mobile food service activities occupied the sixth lowest position and event catering and other food service activities the fourteenth lowest position.
The food and beverage services sector reported a relatively low wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio in 2009 and this was repeated across each of the three subsectors. Furthermore, the individual ratios were within a relatively narrow range, from 114.1 % for the EU-27’s restaurants and mobile food services subsector to 110.6 % for beverage serving activities. All three ratios were considerably below the average wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio for the non-financial business economy (138.8 %).
For the gross operating rate, there were two food and beverage services subsectors that reported rates above the EU-27 non-financial business economy average (9.7 %) in 2009. This was the case for beverage serving activities (12.7 %) and for restaurants and mobile food service activities (11.2 %), while the wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio for event catering and other food service activities (8.0 %) was some 1.7 percentage points less than the non-financial business economy average.
Country analysis
France had the highest level of value added among the Member States for the food and beverage services sector in 2009, accounting for an 18.5 % share of the EU-27 total. The United Kingdom (17.0 %), Germany (16.1 %), Spain (13.4 %) and Italy (11.9 %) all reported double-digit shares of EU-27 value added, while the next highest share was recorded by the Netherlands (4.5 %).
The relatively high share of EU-27 value added for France in the food and beverage services sector could be attributed to the restaurants and mobile food service activities subsector, where France accounted for more than one fifth (21.6 %) of the EU-27’s added value in 2009. For event catering and other food service activities, the highest share of EU-27 value added was recorded in Germany (19.4 %), while more than one quarter (25.7 %) of the EU-27’s value added for beverage serving activities was registered in the United Kingdom.
In terms of relative specialisation, the food and beverage services sector accounted for as much as 5.8 % of national non-financial business economy value added in Cyprus in 2009, this was almost three times as high as the EU-27 average. At the other end of the range, the food and beverage services sector accounted for 0.6 % of non-financial business economy added value in Poland and its share was also below 1 % in Slovakia and Romania. Within beverage serving activities the highest degrees of specialisation were recorded in Cyprus, Spain and Ireland, where the contribution to non-financial business economy was at least twice as high as the EU-27 average. No recent data are available for Malta and this Member State is known to be specialised in the food and beverage services sector.
Most Member States reported low wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios for food and beverage services in 2009, with the highest ratio being registered for Romania (149.4 %). There were four Member States that recorded ratios below 100 %, namely Spain, Lithuania, Hungary and Italy, where the lowest ratio was registered (81.7 %) – as such, apparent labour productivity in these countries did not cover average personnel costs.
Data sources and availability
The analysis presented in this article is based on the main dataset for structural business statistics (SBS) which are disseminated annually. The series provides information for each Member State as well as a number of non-member countries at a detailed level according to the activity classification NACE. Data are available for a wide range of variables.
Context
This article presents an overview of statistics for the food and beverage services sector in the EU, as covered by NACE Rev. 2 Division 56.This division includes food and beverage serving activities providing complete meals or drinks fit for immediate consumption, whether in traditional restaurants, self-service establishments, or take-away restaurants, whether as permanent or temporary stands, with or without seating. The most important factor used to determine whether an enterprise should be classified under this heading is that meals that are produced are fit for immediate consumption, rather than any selection being made upon the basis of the kind of facility producing them.
Restaurants and mobile food service activities include restaurants, cafeterias, fast-food restaurants, food delivery services (such as pizza), take-out eating places, ice cream van vendors, mobile food carts, food preparation in market stalls, restaurant and bar activities connected to transportation (for example, on boats or trains), when carried out separately from the provision of transport services.
Event catering activities include the provision of food services based on contractual arrangements with the customer, at the location specified by the customer, for a specific event. Other food services include industrial catering, in other words the provision of food services based on contractual arrangements with the customer, for a specific period of time; examples are the operation of canteens or cafeterias in factories, offices, hospitals or schools, as well as the operation of food concessions at sports and similar facilities.
Beverage serving activities include preparing and serving beverages for immediate consumption on the premises. Included are bars, taverns, cocktail lounges, coffee shops, fruit juice bars, mobile beverage vendors.
This NACE division is composed of three Groups:
- restaurants and mobile food service activities (Group 56.1);
- event catering and other food service activities (Group 56.2);
- beverage serving activities (Group 56.3).
The information presented in this article excludes the production of meals not fit for immediate consumption or not planned to be consumed immediately, as well as prepared food which is not considered to be a meal (these activities are covered within Divisions 10 and 11, and are included within the NACE as part of the manufacture of food products and the manufacture of beverages). The sale of not self-manufactured food which is not considered to be a meal, as well as the sale of meals which are not fit for immediate consumption are also excluded from the statistics that are presented in this article. These activities are classified as part of the reselling of packaged/prepared beverages and the retail sale of food or beverages through vending machines: these are classified to Divisions 46 and 47 (wholesale and retail trade).
Further Eurostat information
Publications
Main tables
Database
- SBS – services (sbs_serv)
- Annual detailed enterprise statistics - services (sbs_na_serv)
- Annual detailed enterprise statistics for services (NACE Rev.2 H-N and S95) (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
- Preliminary results on services, main indicators (NACE Rev.2) (sbs_sc_r2preli)
- SMEs - Annual enterprise statistics broken down by size classes - services (sbs_sc_sc)
- Services broken down by employment size classes (NACE Rev.2 H-N and S95) (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)
- Annual detailed enterprise statistics - services (sbs_na_serv)
- SBS - regional data - all activities (sbs_r)
- SBS data by NUTS 2 regions and NACE Rev.2, from 2008 onwards (sbs_r_nuts06_r2)
Dedicated section
Source data for tables, figures and maps (MS Excel)
Other information
- Regulation 58/1997 of 20 December 1996 concerning structural business statistics
- Decision 2367/2002/EC of 16 December 2002 on the Community statistical programme 2003 to 2007
- Regulation 295/2008 of 11 March 2008 concerning structural business statistics