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The Single Market and Competitiveness Scoreboard

Growth, employment and social indicators

Growth, employment and the Single Market – why does it matter?

The indicators in this section measure the performance of the Single Market by looking at its growth both in terms of value added and employment. Important social indicators that look at the progress achieved in terms of type of employment, wage development and safety at work complement the performance analysis.

Growth

Value added in industry

This indicator shows the trends in the annual percentage growth in the value added in industry, including construction, for the EU, China, Japan and the USA.

Source: World Bank, national accounts

Value added in services

This indicator shows the trends in the annual percentage growth in the value added in services for the EU, China, Japan and the USA.

Source: World Bank, national accounts

Value added by size of business

This indicator measures the total value added at factor cost. Data are provided by business size (0-9 employees, 10-49, 50-249, 250+). Value added is expressed in current prices (trillion euro).

Source: Joint Research Centre, Eurostat sbs_sc_ovw

Labour productivity

The labour productivity indicator tracks the economic output per hour worked in the economy. It is measured in purchasing power adjusted (PPP) GDP per hour worked. Values are indexed with EU in at 100 in 2023. 

Source: annual macroeconomic (AMECO) database. 

Annual growth rate in GDP per person employed

This indicator shows the trends in the annual growth rates of economic output per person employed for the EU, UK, Japan and the USA.

Sources: AMECO (2024 figures are estimates), Bergeaud, A., Cette, G., & Lecat, R., Productivity Trends in Advanced Countries

Share of high-growth businesses

This indicator measures the share of EU high-growth businesses, defined as businesses experiencing 10% annual employment growth rates within a 3-year period, excluding micro-enterprises. The share is calculated by dividing the number of high-growth businesses by the number of active businesses with at least 10 employees in the non-financial business economy (sectors NACE Rev. 2 B-N_X_K642). Higher shares of high-growth businesses indicate a stronger ability of businesses to grow and create jobs.

Source: Eurostat bd_hg

Employment and social indicators

Employment growth

This indicator shows the annual percentage growth in total employment for the EU, Japan, the USA and the UK.

Source: AMECO

Number of people employed by size of business

This indicator measures the total number of people employed. Data are provided by business size (0-9 employees, 10-49, 50-249, 250+).

Source: Joint Research Centre, Eurostat.

Employment rate

This indicator shows the trends in employment rates of people aged 20-64 in the EU, the UK, Japan and the USA.

Sources: EU: Eurostat, EU Labour Force Survey, [lfsi_emp_a] / Japan, UK, USA: OECD, Labour Force Survey

Precarious employment

This indicator shows the share of workers in the EU employed under precarious conditions, i.e. their job contract does not exceed 3 months duration. 

Source: Eurostat lfsa_qoe_4ax1r2, EU Labour Force Survey

Employment by gender

This indicator shows the employment rate of the working-age population (20-64 years) by gender. Click the buttons at the bottom of the chart to view the statistics for the entire population by gender, or how the employment gap between the genders is evolving.

Source: Eurostat

Adult participation in education and training every year

This indicator measures the share of adults (aged 25-64) that have taken part in an organised learning activity in the 12 months before the survey. These learning activities can encompass formal and non-formal education and training (excluding guided on-the-job training) in institutions or companies and training purchased on the market or provided by local authorities or other bodies. The chart is based on a special extraction from the 2022 Adult Education Survey excluding guided on-the-job training.

Source: Eurostat, 2022 EU Adult Education Survey

Wage levels and development

This indicator measures annual net earnings in purchasing power standard for people earning 100% of the average earnings of a specific category of households.

The chart on the left provides data for the EU, the USA, the UK and Japan. The chart on the right details the EU growth rates for the three categories of households.

Source: Eurostat earn_nt_net.

Health and safety at work

The chart on the left shows the percentage of the active population employed or previously employed who are affected by accidents at work. It shows the EU average and the figures for the EU countries with the smallest (min) and the largest (max) values.

The chart on the right shows the percentage of the active population employed or previously employed who are affected by work-related health problems. It shows the EU average and the figures for the EU countries with the smallest (min) and the largest (max) values.

Source: Eurostat. Accident at work: hsw_ac1; Work-related health problems: hsw_pb1.

Further information on social indicators can be found in Eurostat's Social Scoreboard

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