Employment

In 2021, France led the EU Member States with the largest transport workforce, comprising 842,000 individuals, 842,000 individuals (about half the population of Idaho) which accounts for 13.9% of the total EU transport workforce. Following France, Poland represented 13.1%, while Germany contributed 11.4%. Both Spain and Italy each accounted for 10.4% of the EU's transport workforce. On the other end of the spectrum, the smallest transport workforces were found in Cyprus and Malta, each making up just 0.1% of the EU total. When examining specific sectors, Iceland stood out with water and air transport sector, together making up 65% of its transport workforce. Malta followed with 53.6% in the same sectors. Conversely, Slovenia and Latvia had the smallest proportions in water and air transport, with 1.1% and 2.4%, respectively.

In 2021, the transport subsectors exhibited distinct employment patterns across the EU, with land DEFINITION Transport involving road or rail, making up the majority of transport employment in the EU. Click for vocabulary transport dominating for over 89% of the workforce. Water DEFINITION Transport using inland waterways or maritime routes. Click for vocabulary and air DEFINITION Transport via aircraft Click for vocabulary transport accounted for 5.7% and 4.7%, respectively. Land transport emerged as the predominant sector within the transport workforce across most of the EU Member States, commanding a significant share of employed individuals. The prevalence of land transport employment varied, with Greece reporting the lowest proportion at 64.5%, while Slovenia stood out with an overwhelming 98.9% share. Malta, however, deviated from this trend, with its land transport sector comprising 46.4% of its transport employment, marking an exception to the prevailing dominance of land transport.

Conversely, in certain EU countries such as Malta and Luxembourg, the combined share of water and air transport was notably elevated, with air transport holding a substantial portion. Similarly, Greece and Croatia exhibited a significant share of water transport within their overall transport workforce. Among EU members, several countries had a considerable portion of their transport employment in water and air sectors, though still less than half. These included Greece (35.5% in water and air), Luxembourg (29.6%), and Croatia (23.1%). In contrast, countries such as Austria (91.6% land, 8.4% water and air) and Sweden (92.1% land, 7.9% water and air) had lower representations in the water and air sectors.

Non-EU members like Norway and Switzerland also presented interesting figures. Norway had 68.1% of its transport workforce in the land sector and 31.9% in water and air transport. Switzerland, with 90.1% in land transport and 9.9% in water and air transport, mirrored the trend seen in many EU countries.

Ιn 2021, a large majority of the transport sector’s workforce in all EU Member States was male. The highest share of females was recorded in Malta at 25.1 % and the lowest share was 9.7 % in Romania; the EU average was 17.1 %

There is a clear correlation between the sectoral employment structure and gender distribution. In the EU, 42.0% of individuals employed in air transport were women, compared to 21.9% in water transport and 15.2% in land transport.

In 2021, across all EU Member States, the transport sector exhibited a significant gender disparity, with a large majority of the workforce being male. Female representation varied widely, with Malta reporting the highest share at 25.1%, while Romania recorded the lowest at 9.7%. The EU average stood at 17.1%.

An analysis of the age demographics within the EU's transport sector in 2021 reveals that approximately half (51.0%) of the workforce fell within the 30–49 age bracket. Those aged 50–64 constituted 36.9%, while individuals aged 15–29 made up 12.1% of the workforce. Interestingly, the proportion of individuals aged 30–49 in the transport sector mirrored that of the overall economy. However, the transport sector exhibited a higher proportion of older workers and a lower proportion of younger workers compared to the broader economy. Notably, Malta stood out as an exception in terms of age demographics. In 2021, 26.4% of its transport workforce comprised younger individuals, more than double the EU average. Finland and the Netherlands followed closely, with 20.0% and 19.5% of younger transport workers, respectively. Conversely, Estonia and Cyprus had over half of their transport workforce aged 50–64, with more than 40.0% in 10 other EU Member States falling within the same age bracket.