van der Giessen, A.

Total employment in the printing, publishing, and recorded media industry in 2006 amounted to 1.91 million jobs, which is equivalent to 0.87% of overall EU employment and 5.54% of EU manufacturing employment. The printing and publishing sector is a fairly important sector in terms for employment for most regions across the EU. Employment is most concentrated in a number of geographical clusters, predominantly located in the west of Germany, France, Belgium and Northern Italy. A report summary is available.

The distribution and trade sector (NACE 50, 51, 52) accounted for 6.2 million enterprises in EU-27 in 2004, employing over 30 million people. With the inclusion of Romania and Bulgaria, this number had grown to 33.3 million in 2006. Almost 81% of the jobs in the distribution and trade sector were located in the old Member States (EU15).

The computer, electronic and optical products sector accounted for 134,264 enterprises in the EU-27 in 2005, employing over two million persons. This report is published as part of a series of forward-looking sector studies on new skills and new jobs. While the main focus of the study is on the future of skills and jobs by 2020, the study is both backward- and forward-looking. See also report summary.