The numbers represent an increase from 0.6% to 0.8% of total employment and reflect the general trend across the European Union.
In 2020, in the EU, the number of people in sport employment grew by around 100 000 more in comparison with 2015, equivalent to an overall increase of 8.4 %. This rise was also observed in relative terms, with sport employment representing 0.68 % of total employment in 2020, up from the 0.64 % in 2015. The number of people employed in sport increased in 21 out of 27 EU Member States between 2015 to 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic appears to have had an impact in 2020, when employment in sport decreased 4.0% in comparison with 2019, against -1.3% recorded for total employment.
In 2020, 1.3 million people were employed in the field of sport in the EU. Regarding gender balance, men (57 %) outnumbered women, with Latvia around the EU average in this regard.