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East-west divide in share of employment in agriculture, forestry and fishing

Share of the labour force involved in agriculture, forestry and fishing in 2015, according to the ISIC rev. 4 classification of economic activities. Not all UNECE countries shown.

In 2015, less than five percent of employed persons worked in the agricultural, forestry and fishing industries in about half of reporting UNECE member countries. Luxembourg reported the lowest share of employment in these industries, at 0.9% of the labour force. Israel, the United Kingdom and Belgium followed closely, with 1%, 1.1% and 1.3% of the labour force, respectively. The only countries in Western Europe where these activities made up more than five percent of the labour force were Ireland and Portugal.


For other countries, agriculture, forestry and fishing made up a more important share of the labour force. Over a quarter of employed persons were involved in these activities in five countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Romania. The largest shares were reported in Armenia and Azerbaijan (35.3% and 36.4%, respectively).


Compared to ten years ago, the share of employment in agriculture, forestry and fishing has decreased in nearly all UNECE countries for which ISIC rev. 4 data are available for both years (29 of 31 countries). The only exceptions were Sweden and the United States, for which these activities made up 0.1 percentage points more of the labour force in 2015 compared to 2005. The largest decreases over this period were reported by Poland (5.8 percentage points less of the labour force compared to 2005) and Romania (6.3 percentage points less of the labour force compared to 2005).


Source:  UNECE Statistical database www.unece.org/stats/data

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