Connect with us

Green Week

EU green jobs: Which activities employ the most people?

SHARE:

Published

7 hours ago

on

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Employment in the EU green economy has grown by an average of 6% per year since 2014, reaching 5.8 million full-time equivalents in 2023. But which economic activities employ the most people and have seen the highest growth? 

According to data on the European environmental goods and services sector accounts, green employment in construction grew the most between 2014 and 2023, rising from 0.7 million full-time equivalents to 1.6 million, an average 11% annual growth. This activity had the highest employment and included jobs in the construction of energy-efficient buildings, renewable energy plants as well as energetic refurbishment. 

Although green employment in agriculture, forestry and fishing was 0.7 million full-time equivalents in 2023, this activity registered the second highest annual growth between 2014 and 2023 (+5%). 

The third activity that grew the most in relative terms since 2014 was green manufacturing, from 0.7 million full-time equivalents to 1.0 million in 2023, an average annual growth of 5%. 

Click to enlarge

Source dataset: env_egss_emp

Employment in energy from renewables grew by 79% since 2014

Employment in the environmental economy can also be analysed by environmental purpose. Between 2014 and 2023, employment in energy from renewables grew the most, from 0.4 million full-time equivalents to 0.8 million (+79%). This was followed by employment in the protection of soil, surface and groundwater, up from 0.4 million full-time equivalents to 0.7 million (+60%). 

Advertisement

Significant relative growth was also registered in the air and climate and materials recovery and savings domains, +48% and +47%, respectively, in 2023 compared with 2014. 

Employment in wastewater management grew by 38% in the same period, reaching 0.5 million full-time equivalents, and employment in waste management increased by 30%. In 2023, waste management was the top employment domain with 0.9 million full-time equivalents, representing 16% of the total environmental employment. 

Click to enlarge

Source dataset: env_egss_emp

This news article marks two crucial events on the environmental agenda: the EU Green Week 2026 and World Environment Day. The EU Green Week, which took place in Brussels from 3-4 June, highlights how a nature-positive economy is essential for Europe’s prosperity, resilience, and competitiveness. World Environment Day, held annually on 5 June since 1973, focuses on collective action to address environmental issues, restore ecosystems and drive positive sustainable solutions to build a better future.

For more information

Methodological notes

  • The environmental economy consists of activities for environmental protection and management of natural resources.
  • Economic activities in this news article refer to those listed according to the statistical classification of economic activities (NACE). 
  • Further information on the classification of environmental purposes (CEP) is available in the technical note.

Share this article:

Share this:
Related Topics:
EU Reporter publishes articles from a variety of outside sources which express a wide range of viewpoints. The positions taken in these articles are not necessarily those of EU Reporter. Please see EU Reporter’s full Terms and Conditions of publication for more information EU Reporter embraces artificial intelligence as a tool to enhance journalistic quality, efficiency, and accessibility, while maintaining strict human editorial oversight, ethical standards, and transparency in all AI-assisted content. Please see EU Reporter’s full A.I. Policy for more information.
Advertisement

Trending