In the third quarter of 2020, 14.3 million people aged 15 and over were employed in health occupations in the EU, representing over 7% of employed people and almost 4% of people aged 15 and over.
These health jobs include medical doctors (1.8 million), nurses, midwives and their associates (4.4 million, out of which 2.7 million are associates), personal care workers (3.9 million), other health professionals and associates (4.1 million). Over the past year, these workers were at the forefront of the COVID-19 response, reads the recent data of EuroStat.
Looking at their age profile, health workers aged 35-49 and those 50 years or over were similarly represented, with both age groups accounting for over a third of people (36%) in these occupations.
In a majority (16 of 26) of the EU Member States with available data, the largest share of health workers were aged 35-49, with the highest share reported in Romania (47%), followed by Hungary and Czech Republic (both 43%).
In 9 EU Member States, people aged over 50 accounted for the largest share of health workers, whilst in only one EU Member State did health workers aged 15-34 represent the largest share: Luxembourg (43%).
In Q3 2020, the vast majority of the health workers in the EU were women (78%). Across EU Member States, this share ranges from 61% in Greece to over 90% in Estonia and Latvia.
For women in the EU, health occupations accounted for 12% of their total employment in Q3 2020, however this share varied across countries as well as regions.
At regional level, highest shares were generally recorded in northern regions of the EU:
Seven non-capital regions of Sweden: Upper Norrland (28% of total employment of women), Central Norrland (27%), Småland and islands and North-Central Sweden (both 25%), East-Central Sweden and West Sweden (both 21%), South Sweden (19%);
Three regions in Denmark: North Jutland (22%), South Denmark (20%), Zealand (19%);
Two regions in Finland: North and East Finland (24%) and South Finland (20%); As well as Zeeland (20%) in the Netherlands.
