Archive:High-tech statistics - employment

Data extracted in June 2016. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned update: May 2018

This article analyses data on employment in high-technology (high-tech) sectors in the European Union (EU) and in some EFTA and candidate countries.

In the global race for competitiveness, it is essential to create, exploit and commercialise new technologies. High-tech sectors and enterprises are key drivers of economic growth and productivity, and generally provide high value-added and well-paid employment.

Table 1: Employment in high-tech sectors, EU-28 and selected countries, 2015
Source: Eurostat (htec_emp_nat2)

Figure 1: Average annual growth rate of employment in KIA in 2008-2015 (1), in %
Source: Eurostat (htec_kia_emp2)

Figure 2: Researchers as a percentage of R&D personnel in business enterprise sectors in 2014, in %
Source: Eurostat (htec_sti_pers2)

Figure 3: Researchers as a proportion of total R&D personnel in high-tech manufacturing, in full-time equivalent, in 2013, in %
Source: Eurostat (htec_sti_pers2)

Figure 4: Regional disparities in employment in high-tech sectors as a percentage of total employment (NUTS 2 level), 2015 (1)(2)
Source: Eurostat (htec_emp_reg2) and (htec_emp_nat2)

Main statistical findings

Employment in high-tech sectors

In 2015, 33.9 million people were employed in the manufacturing sector in the EU 28, a figure which represented 15.4 % of total employment. Of these, 2.4 million were employed in high-tech manufacturing, corresponding to 1.1 % of total employment. About three times as many were employed in high-tech knowledge intensive services, which accounted for 2.9 % of total employment.

In 2015, employment in high tech manufacturing and services varied considerably from one country to another, when considered as proportion of total employment. In high-tech manufacturing, it ranged from 0.3 % in Turkey to 3.1 % in Ireland: within the EU-28, Cyprus recorded the lowest share (0.4 %). Differences in terms of the relative importance of high-tech knowledge-intensive services in total employment were also observed across countries. The biggest proportion (over 5.6 %) was recorded in Iceland while the smallest (under 0.9 %) in Turkey, which was the only country observed to display a value lower than 1 %. Among the EU Members, Finland (4.7 %), Ireland, (4.4 %), Sweden (4.2 %) and Estonia (4 %) recorded the highest share, whereas the lowest values were observed in Greece (1.9 %), Lithuania (2 %) and Romania (2 %) (Table 1).

Within the EU-28, the average annual growth rate (AAGR) for employment in high-tech sectors was positive over the 2008-2015 period. Comparing to the manufacturing sector – where the average decrease was of 1.6 % a year – high-tech manufacturing recorded a slower fall equal to 1 % a year, on average. This decrease can be partially explained by the economic crisis that hit Europe in 2010, the impact of which was also observed in the services sector, which recorded only a moderate growth of 0.6 % a year, on average. At the same time, high-tech knowledge-intensive services showed some resilience to the crisis and recorded an average annual rise of 1.3 % in the number of jobs. Some important differences among countries emerge when comparing employment changes, with significant growth on the one hand and equally significant decline on the other. Of the 33 countries observed, 16 registered a fall in employment in high-tech manufacturing in 2008-2015, with the biggest fall (29.3 %) in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (between 2009 and 2015), followed by a fall of 7 % in the Netherlands. Growth in high tech manufacturing was observed in the following nine countries: Turkey (6.2 %, in 2009-2015), Austria (2.2 %), Romania and Slovenia (1.6 %), the Czech Republic (1.5 %), Germany (1 %), Denmark (0.9 %), Poland (0.3 %) and Switzerland (0.1 %). The loss in high-tech knowledge-intensive services was much more moderate, with only four countries registering a decline, namely: Greece (-1.7 %), the Netherlands (-1.3 %), Spain (-0.3 %) and Germany (-0.1 %). The best-performing countries in terms of employment growth in high-tech knowledge-intensive services were the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (11.7 %), Turkey (9.8 %), Estonia (9.2 %), Slovakia (6.3 %) and Romania (6 %).

Overall, roughly one out of three employees in the high-tech sectors was a woman in 2015. However, the share of women was different in manufacturing and services:

• There were more women in high-tech manufacturing than in manufacturing in general– 29.4 % of employees in manufacturing were women compared to 38.2 % of high-tech manufacturing. Seven countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Malta, Poland and Portugal) reported that 50 % or more of those employed in high-tech manufacturing were women.
• In the high-tech knowledge-intensive services, the proportion of women (30.4 %) was lower than in the total service sector (54.4 %). No countries achieved a gender balance; the lowest proportions were recorded in the Netherlands (22.6 %), Slovakia (24.6 %) and Turkey (25.1 %). On the other hand, women were relatively strongly represented in Lithuania (40.7 %), Iceland (40 %) Romania (39.9 %) and Bulgaria (39.1 %). In particular, the activities computer programming, scientific research and development, telecommunications and corresponding occupations still seem to attract more men than women.

Employment in knowledge - intensive activities (KIA)

In 2015, about 77.7 million people were employed in knowledge-intensive activities (KIA) in the EU-28, which represented 36 % of total employment. Luxembourg recorded the highest proportion (51.6 %). At the other end of the scale, the figure was below 30 % in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey.

In terms of employment growth, Turkey and Malta saw annual increases of over 3 % between 2008 and 2015 (2009 for Turkey). The biggest decrease (-2 % per year) was registered by Greece during this period (Figure 1).

In 2015, women accounted for 56.5 % of employment in knowledge-intensive activities (KIA) in the EU-28, as compared with 44.2 % in total employment (all sectors): women outnumbered men in all countries except Luxembourg, Malta and Turkey. For the knowledge-intensive activities in business industries (KIABI), the opposite trend was recorded, as only Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania registered a majority of women.

Researchers in business enterprise sectors (BES)

In 2014, nearly 1.5 million people (in full-time equivalents – FTEs), worked in business enterprise sectors of R&D in the EU-28 . Of these, over 850 150 – i.e. 56.9 % of R&D personnel in the BES – were researchers. Of the EU Member States, Sweden, Finland and Lithuania recorded the highest proportion of researchers: around three in four BES R&D employees. However, when all the countries covered are taken into account, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia shows the highest proportion of researchers as a percentage of R&D personnel: 84.6 % (Figure 2).

In high-tech manufacturing, the proportion of researchers among R&D personnel varied in the countries for which data (referred to 2013) are available (Figure 3). The lowest levels were registered in Slovenia (39.6 %) and Romania (under 50 %). Among the top-ranking countries, Finland recorded a remarkable 80+ %.

In the same reference year, 20 out of 28 countries reported higher proportions of researchers employed in high-tech manufacturing industry than in all economic sectors considered. Italy noted the most significant difference (17+ %).

High-tech employment at regional level

At EU-28 level, high-tech sectors (high tech manufacturing and high-tech knowledge-intensive services) accounted for 4 % of total employment in 2015, with about three-quarters occupied in high-tech knowledge-intensive services and one-quarter in high-tech manufacturing.

Figure 4 shows regional discrepancies in high-tech sectors as a proportion of total employment. For each country, it shows the national average and the regions with the lowest and highest proportions of employment in high-tech sectors .

At national level, 15 of the 33 observed countries registered values above the EU-28 average (4 %), with rates of over 5 % in Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Malta, Slovenia, Finland, Iceland and Switzerland. The lowest national figures (high-tech sectors accounting for less than 2.5 % of total employment) were registered in Greece, Lithuania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

At regional level, high employment in high-tech sectors is often observed in capital regions or regions close to capitals. The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire region of the UK, which is close to London, stands out with 10.4 % of its labour force in high-tech sectors. Other examples are Helsinki-Uusimaa (FI) with 10 %, Hovedstaden (Great Copenhagen, DK) with 9.7 % and Bratislavský kraj (SK) with 9.2 %. By contrast, the lowest proportions (under 1 %) were registered in Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki (EL), Sud-Est (RO) and Kirikkale, Aksaray, Nigde, Nevsehir, Kirsehir (TR). Romania, the United Kingdom, Norway and Turkey show the greatest regional variation (ratio of highest to lowest proportion). The least is observed in Croatia, Slovenia and Switzerland.

Data sources and availability

Statistics on high-tech industry and knowledge-intensive services (‘high-tech statistics’) comprise economic, employment, and science, technology and innovation (STI) data on manufacturing and service industries or products traded broken down by technological intensity. The domain uses various other domains and sources of official Eurostat statistics (CIS, COMEXT, LFS, SBS, PATSTAT and R&D), on which its coverage is therefore dependent.

Data on high-tech employment come from the EU Labour Force Survey (LFS). Employed people are defined as persons aged between 15 and 74 who performed work during the reference week, even for just one hour, for pay, profit or family gain, or had a job or business from which they were temporarily absent, e.g. because of illness, holidays, industrial dispute or education and training.

The data are aggregated according to the sectoral approach base on the statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community (NACE) at 2-digit level. Due to the move from NACE Rev. 1.1 to NACE Rev. 2, the definition of high tech industries and knowledge-intensive services changed in 2008. For high-tech statistics, this means that two different definitions (one according to NACE Rev. 1.1 and one according to NACE Rev. 2) are used in parallel and figures are presented in separate tables depending on data availability.

The KIA employment indicator was developed to offer a harmonised means across all sectors of comparing economies with respect to knowledge intensity. An activity is classified as knowledge-intensive if employment of persons with a tertiary education represents more than a third (33 %) of the total employment in that activity.

Statistics on R&D personnel are compiled using guidelines in the OECD’s 2002 Frascati Manual. R&D personnel include all persons employed directly in R&D and persons supplying direct services (such as managers, administrative staff and clerical staff). For statistical purposes, indicators on R&D personnel are compiled as both head counts (HC) and full-time equivalents (FTEs). A sub-category of R&D personnel, the researchers, are professionals engaged in the conception or creation of new knowledge, products, processes, methods and systems, and in the management of related projects.

Context

In the context of economic globalisation, technology is a key factor in enhancing growth and competitiveness in business. High-tech industries are expanding most strongly in international trade and their dynamism helps to improve performance in other sectors.

Investment in research, development, innovation and skills constitutes a key policy area for the EU as it is essential to economic growth and to the development of a knowledge-based economy.

Research, development, science and technology have been acknowledged as factors of growing competitiveness, better and better-paid jobs, greater social cohesion and a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. There is a need to measure progress and achievements in relation to the goals identified first in the Lisbon strategy and redefined in the Europe 2020 strategy.

The production and development of statistics on science and technology are governed by Decision No 1608/2003/EC , which highlights the need for comparable data on research and development, technological innovation, and science and technology. The aim is to create an information system on science, technology and innovation that can support and monitor implementation of the various EU policies in this area.

In 2004, the Commission adopted Regulation (EC) No 753/2004, which complements Decision No 1608/2003/EC by setting out a framework for the standards, definitions and classifications used in the production of science and technology statistics.

In the light of developments affecting science and technology statistics and of demand for new and more detailed and frequent statistics, new implementing measures were laid down in 2012, in Regulation (EU) No 995/2012.

High-tech statistics are based principally on an effective use (also within the European Statistical System) of existing national and international data sources. This also involves identifying and classifying activities and products, and measuring the economic performance of the activities and their contribution to the performance of the economy as a whole.

Launched in 2010, the Europe 2020 strategy sets out a vision of Europe’s social market economy for the 21st century, underpinned by three mutually reinforcing priorities:

• smart growth: developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation;
• sustainable growth: promoting a more resource-efficient, greener and more competitive economy; and
• inclusive growth: fostering a high-employment economy, delivering social and geographical cohesion.

The European Commission is further boosting the Europe 2020 strategy with seven flagship initiatives, one of which, the Innovation Union in support of ‘smart growth’, is aimed at improving the framework for research and innovation in the EU. Over 30 action points have been published. For example, the Innovation Union prioritises a gender balance in research careers in the European Research Area. It recommends that Member States take gender and dual-career considerations fully into account in their national R&D strategies.

Regional policy contributing to smart growth in Europe 2020, a Commission Communication published in 2010, shows how, by targeting investment in innovation in all regions, EU regional funding is crucial to achieving growth. A key element is encouraging national and regional governments to design ‘smart specialisation strategies’ to help regions identify their best assets. Concentrating resources on a limited number of priorities will ensure a more effective use of public funds and help to raise levels of private investment.

On 13 September 2013, following a request from the European Council, the Commission adopted its Communication Measuring innovation output: towards a new indicator. The indicator in question measures the extent to which ideas from innovative sectors are able to reach the market, thus providing better jobs and making Europe more competitive. Making use of several of Eurostat’s science, technology and innovation (STI) statistics and concepts, it supports the benchmarking of national innovation policies and shows up significant differences between EU countries.

The Europe 2020 strategy includes trade-opening initiatives for ̒sectors of the future̕, including high-tech products and services.

See also

• High-tech statistics - economic data
• R & D personnel
• Science, technology and digital society statistics introduced

Further Eurostat information

Publications

• Science, technology and innovation in Europe - Pocketbook, 2013 edition

Main tables

• Science and technology, see:

High-tech industry and knowledge-intensive services (t_htec)

Database

• Science and technology, see:

High-tech industry and knowledge-intensive services (htec)

Economic data on high-tech industry and and knowledge-intensive services (HTEC) (htec_eco)

Employment statistics in high-tech industry and knowledge-intensive services (HTEC) (htec_emp)

Knowledge Intensive Activities (htec_kia)

Science and technology in high-tech industry and knowledge-intensive services (HTEC) (htec_sti)

Dedicated section

• Science, technology and innovation

Methodology / Metadata

• High-tech industry and knowledge-intensive services (ESMS metadata file — htec_esms)

Source data for tables, figures and maps (MS Excel)

• High-tech statistics - employment: table and figures

Other information

• Decision 1608/2003 of 22 July 2003 concerning the production and development of Community statistics on science and technology (Legal text)
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 995/2012 of 26 October 2012 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Decision No 1608/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the production and development of Community statistics on science and technology (Legal text)

External links

• European Commission - Europe 2020
• European Commission - Research - ERA
• Innovation Union Competitiveness Report 2011
• European Commission - European Commission - Internal market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs - Innovation
• OECD - Statistical analysis of science, technology and industry