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In the 27 member states of the European Union, 1.3 million people worked in sports last year, representing 0.7% of total employment, the lowest percentage of employees in this sector being in Romania, show the data published on Monday by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat).
Among member states, the highest percentage of people working in sport in 2020 was in Sweden (1.6%), Finland (1.4%), Spain and the Netherlands (both with 1%), and the highest decreased in Romania (0.2% in 2020, but up from 0.1% in 2015).
Between 2015 and 2020, the number of employees in sports increased on average by 1.6% each year, compared to an advance of 0.8% for total jobs. This represents an increase of approximately 100,000 people employed in sport, with Italy, Spain, Greece and Germany contributing more than half to this increase.
Also, between 2015 and 2020, the number of employees in sports increased in 21 of the 27 member states of the European Union. However, in 2020, the number of employees in sports decreased by 4% compared to 2019, compared to a decline of 1.3% for total jobs.
Regarding the age of those who work in the field of sports, 33% of those employed are young (aged between 15 and 29), almost twice as much as the percentage for total jobs (17%). People aged 30-64 represent the highest percentage of employees in this sector (64%); by 16 percentage points less than the share reported for total employment.
Women represent 43% of the total EU employees in the field of sport, reflecting the structure of the total employed population (46% are women), Agerpres informs.
