Occupational safety and health in Europe - state and trends 2023 
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work – EU-OSHA 109 
5.3 Workforce structure  
The workforce was often set identical with employed workers under a permanent contract, on average 
mostly male, mainly national, and most of the skills were achieved during apprenticeships or studying. 
During the past three decades a rapid economic, technological and d emographic development took 
place: the variety of contracts has grown, a nd the share of women and of an international workforce 
increased; moreover, the average age of the workforce is rapidly increasing; and technological 
developments require repeated and  often permanent acquisition of new skills. All these developments 
have shattered traditional ideas and conceptions of working life. 297 This also has an impact on OSH.  
 
Figure 38: Workforce structure, demography – Eurostat 
 
 
In 2005, approximately 80 million women and 101 million men were employed in the EU. This was 
a rate of female workforce of 44.1%; in 2019, this rate went up to 46.1%, with 90 million women and 106 
million men making up a total of 196 million workers. The employment rate of women between 15  and 
64 years stood in 2019 at 67.9% and the employment rate of men at 78.9%.298  
During the past 15 years the number of women in the Eurostat category ‘Employed persons’ (Employed 
persons = employees and employers including self-employed) grew by 12.9%. The number of female 
employees grew by 16.3% and the number of male employees by 7.8%.