29.11.2023

IN WHICH SECTORS ARE NEW JOBS BEING CREATED?

EU commitments to achieve a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels by 2030 will be positive for employment in the EU, leading to the creation of 204,000 jobs, Eurofound predicts.

This is in addition to expected employment growth of 6.7 million net new jobs between 2019 and 2030. However, the agency warns that some industries and regions will be particularly negatively affected.

One of the EU's main strategic goals is to ensure that Europe becomes the first climate-neutral continent with net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To achieve this goal, EU politicians adopted the Fit for 55 policy package in 2021, which contains interim decarbonisation targets aimed at reducing emissions by 55% by 2030 based on 1990 levels.

According to a Eurofound report on employment impacts in the EU to 2030, negative employment effects are more likely in some central and eastern EU countries, notably Poland and Romania, and regions with a relatively high proportion of workers still working in extractive industries industries.

Positive effects on employment are predicted in southern European countries, especially Spain and Italy, and regions with natural endowments (wind and solar), developed energy efficiency infrastructure and capacity to produce renewable energy equipment.

With jobs in both improving energy efficiency and developing renewable energy capacity, the sector likely to benefit the most in terms of employment is construction. There will also be increased employment in market services as relative prices favor a shift in the structure of the economy towards "cleaner" sectors, reinforcing the shift of employment to the service sector.

While overall employment is projected to improve toward 2030, the small increase in employment forecast for the Fit for 55 package generally occurs in low- and middle-wage jobs that do not require a college degree.

Speaking about the report, John Hurley, Eurofound's senior research manager, noted the need for a broad policy focus to reap the benefits of decarbonisation while protecting those who could lose out. "Policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions will have different effects on employment across sectors and occupations, increasing demand for some jobs and reducing demand for others." They must work hand-in-hand with education, training and employment policies to prepare workers with the necessary skills and competencies to contribute to the collective decarbonisation effort," he adds.