Euro cycle industry employs more than US car giants

The European Cycling Industry employs around 650,000 people, substantially more than even the United States ‘Big Three’ automotive companies, which employ 510,000 between them.

According to the European Cyclists’ Federation – which earlier today released a report on the state of cycling in Europe – sectors including tourism, retail, manufacturing employ the huge number. The potential for further recruitment would grow substantially if there were a shift in cycling’s modal share too.

According to the study, if cycling’s modal share doubled, a further 400,000 jobs could be created, taking the figure north of one million. As it stands, around three per cent of Europe’s journeys are carried out by bike, though that figure obviously varies hugely between the UK and Denmark, for example.

Further trumping other transport sectors, the study suggests that cycling has a higher employment intensity per million of turnover, thus offering greater potential for job creation.

The same study also concluded that the economic benefit to the 27 European countries studied is worth €217 billion.

If you’re on the lookout for a job in the cycling industry, BikeBiz’s jobs board has several vacancies the length and breadth of the UK.