RESEARCH
Private Equity at Work
Private equity and venture capital firms are focused on growth, and in that objective, people are an essential asset.
For the sixth successive year of Invest Europe’s Private Equity at Work report, private equity and venture capital backed companies created jobs far in excess of the overall European economy. Companies in our universe increased employee numbers by 5% in 2023, well ahead of the 1% growth seen across all European businesses.
There was not one stage of European private equity and venture capital that did not witness employment growth far ahead of that benchmark, nor one region of Europe where the industry’s investments did not beat the regional growth rate, or in some cases its contraction. This unequivocally says that, in the drive to build better businesses, private equity and venture capital firms are focused on growth – and see people as instrumental to that growth.
Key statistics
11.2 million
employees worked in private
equity-backed European
companies in 2023
Source: EDC / Eurostat
5%
of the 240 million people in
Europe's workforce were employed
by private equity-backed European
companies in 2023
Source: EDC / Eurostat / UK ONS
28,610
companies in Europe backed by private equity in 2023 across all industry sectors and all regions
Inside this report
Overview
In this section, you can read about the industry's real contribution to employment and job creation, and the far-reaching impact this has on the people, societies and economies of Europe.
Employment & job creation
In this section, you can read about private equity’s role in employment around Europe, its performance across different business sectors and stages of company development.
Methodology
This section details the methodology and data which were studied and used to draw the conclusions in this report.
About us
Invest Europe is the association representing Europe’s private equity, venture capital and infrastructure sectors, as well as their investors.
Note: Private equity in this report encompasses: Buyout, Generalist, Growth, Mezzanine, and Venture Capital.
Eric De Montgolfier
CEO, Invest Europe
Private equity and venture capital firms are focused on growth, and in that objective, people are an essential asset.