Environmental employment in the EU: Luxembourg is a leader in energy management

In 2022, the labour market in the environmental sector in the European Union experienced significant growth: the number of jobs increased by an average of 9.5% compared to the previous year. However, this dynamic was not uniform: while Greece grew by 38 per cent, the Czech Republic saw the lowest growth of only 2.8 per cent. In some countries, such as Malta, Lithuania and Slovakia, the number of jobs in the green economy even decreased.

Energy management was one of the key sectors driving growth. On average across the EU, this sector accounted for 34.8 per cent of all green jobs. However, Luxembourg was the absolute leader in this indicator, with energy management accounting for 70.5 per cent of all green employment - the highest percentage among EU countries.

Sweden (68.3 per cent) and Italy (61.5 per cent) ranked second and third. At the same time, the industry remains less developed in a number of countries: for example, Malta (3.7 per cent), Hungary (12.7 per cent) and Cyprus (14.3 per cent) have minimal shares in the green economy.

Countries that showed significant growth in energy management in 2022:

• Italy - +73% of jobs in this sector,
• Germany - +34%,
• Portugal - +48%.

But the situation was not positive in all environmental sectors. In Italy, for example, the number of jobs in waste management fell by 2.5 per cent, while France and Germany saw growth in this sector (1.6 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively). In Spain the situation remained stable.

The growing number of jobs in the green economy confirms that the European Union continues to move towards a green transition. However, the data show that the development is uneven. In Luxembourg, Sweden and Italy, energy management is becoming a key environmental sector, while in some countries the momentum remains subdued.