What do we see?
Between 2010 and 2021, the number of jobs in circular industries increased by 15% to 44,949. The increase occurred mainly in the periods 2009-2012 and 2015-2019, when a peak was reached. Over the whole period, the increase was higher than that of employment in the whole economy (9%). Jobs in circular industries account for 1.6% of the total number of jobs in Flanders.
Motor vehicle maintenance was the largest circular industry in 2021 (39.3%), followed by waste treatment (27.2%) and repairs (18.3%).
What’s the aim?
Defining and delineating a circular job is not straightforward, as no job is completely circular and many jobs partly incorporate different aspects of the circular economy. In addition, repair work (repair cafés), sharing initiatives (materials library) and second-hand transactions often take place in the informal economy and are not included in figures based on paid employment within sectors. More important than the absolute figures are the trends, which give an indication of the extent to which the transition to the circular economy holds potential in terms of job creation.
What does this indicator measure?
This indicator shows the number of jobs in the Flemish economy that fall within the NACE sectors classified by CE Center as circular industries. It covers jobs in sectors focusing on repair, waste management, rental and leasing, maintenance of motor vehicles, second-hand goods and building restoration. The data comes from Statistics Flanders, which calculated the numbers of paid jobs within circular industries based on NSSO data.
