The shift towards a service economy is a long-term trend that was already observed in the EU in the second half of the 20th century. Employment in services accounted for 74 % of total employment in the EU in 2017, compared with 66 % in 2000, while employment in industry decreased from 26 % in 2000 to 22 % in 2017 and agriculture halved from 8 % to 4 %. As regards value added, services generated 73 % of total value added in 2017, industry 25 % and agriculture 2 %.

Among the Member States, the share of agricultural employment in 2017 was highest in Romania (24 % of total employment), Bulgaria (19 %), Greece (11 %) and Poland (10 %), while the highest shares for industrial employment were recorded in the Czech Republic (36 %), Slovakia and Poland (both 31 %) and Romania (30 %). Service activities represented 80 % of total employment or just over in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Malta, France, Denmark, Cyprus and Luxembourg.

Do you want to know more about how a wide range of other economic issues have changed since the start of the millennium? Then take a look at the new digital publication The European economy since the start of the millennium!

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