Brussels, 30/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Between 2000 and 2012, 4.8 million full time jobs in farming disappeared in the EU, it was noted in a report from DG Agriculture, assessing the number of workers in the agricultural sector within the EU. The report analyses and compares various Eurostat data sources: Farm Structure Survey (FSS), Economic Accounts for Agriculture (EAA), National and Regional Economic Accounts, and finally Labour Force Survey (LFS).
In total, the labour force in farming fell by nearly one third (32%) in the EU, from 14.9 million in 2000 to 10.1 million in 2012, according to EAA data. Seventy per cent of jobs lost were in the 12 states that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007, where agricultural restructuring was the greatest. Romania is the country most affected. It lost over half (56%) of its annual work units (AWU) which, with 2 million jobs when measured in full-time job equivalent, represents 43% of total losses. Slovakia, Estonia, Bulgaria and Latvia also suffered major losses, often above 45%.
Of all jobs in agriculture lost, 93% were held by people not earning a wage, such as family members. The number of AWU, however, fell in most countries in the two categories: salaried workers and non-salaried workers. There were, however, a few exceptions: in Ireland, the number of non-salaried AWU increased by 14,000, whereas in Romania an additional 26,000 AWU salaried workers were accounted for between 2000 and 2012.
In 2012, the EU had 12 million farms. Yet, according to most data, some 10 million people were employed full-time in the farming sector, representing 5% of total jobs and with under one full-time worker for each farm. In AWU, the family farms remain predominant - between 75% and 80% of AWU, according to the different sources. Most jobs on farms are held by men, accounting for 60% of all agricultural jobs, according to FSS data, compared to 54% in the total general economy. Compared to the other sectors of the economy, workers are generally male and also older. According to LFS, 67% of farm workers were over 40 in 2012, of which 10% were over 65. (LM/transl.jl)