Employer business demography (since 2015)

Since 2014, the data collection on employer business demography is mandatory also on European level. The legal basis is a commission implementing regulation amending Annex IX of the revised EU regulation on structural business statistics and on national level the business demography regulation. On national level, the expected European obligation was anticipated by the business demography regulation (revised version 2019). According to this legal basis, in 2020, data have to be compiled for reference year 2018. The data are shown by economic activities (NACE Rev.2) and legal form, by economic activities and employee size class, by economic activities and provinces as well as NUTS3, by turnover tax classes and for sole proprietorships by economic activities and gender.

Overview of the results for 2018

In 2018, 19 269 new employer enterprises were created with 66 005 persons employed (49 374 of them employees). The employer enterprise birth rate was 8.1%.

The highest birth rates are found in the economic activities “Administrative and support service activities” (11.4%), “Other service activities” (11.2%), “Professional, scientific and technical activities” (11.1%) as well as “Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles” (10.9%). In industry and construction (sections B-F, NACE Rev.2), the birth rate was lower (6.6%) than in the services sector (sections G-S, excluding 64.2 “Management activities of holding companies” and 64.3 “Trusts”) where it amounted to 8.4%.

The survival rate of newly created employer enterprises in 2013 that survived until 2014 amounted to 80.9%. One year later (2015) 66.9% of this cohort survived. The average survival rates for the employer enterprises that survived three and four years were 57.8% and 51.1%. Five years later (2018), only 45.7% of the employer enterprises founded in 2013 were still active. The highest five-year survival rates were recorded for the economic activities “Human health and social work activities” (67.7%), “Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply” (59.0%) and “Manufacturing” (55.8%).

19 326 employer enterprises with 70 411 employees were closed in 2018. On average, the death rate was 8.1%. Death rates above this average can for instance be found in the activities “Arts, entertainment and recreation” (10.6%), “Accommodation and food service activities” (9.4%) as well as “Transportation and storage” (10.0%) and “Administrative and support service activities” (9.6%). The death rate was 6.3% in industry and construction (sections B-F) and 8.5% in the services sector (sections G-S, without 64.2 and 64.3).

On average, in 2018, 3.4 jobs (for self-employed persons and employees) per employer enterprise were created and 3.6 jobs were lost. In absolute counts, most jobs were created in the sectors “Accommodation and food service activities” (14 400), “Wholesale and retail trade” (10 619), “Construction” (7 625) and “Professional, scientific and technical activities” (7 002).

Note

The numbers of enterprise deaths for the last two reporting years (here: 2017 and 2018) and those for enterprise births, active enterprises and survival for the most recent reporting year (here: 2018) are provisional.

Since 2015 a revised method to produce employer business demography statistics was used. The data were recalculated with the new method back to reporting year 2007. For enterprise deaths the recalculation of the new methodology for the years 2007 to 2009 was ex post only possible in a limited way. That is why there is a break in time series for the year 2010.

Further information on the methodology of the data collection.

Results and information on Business Demography Statistics.