From the CEO

Invest Europe’s Private Equity at Work is now in its seventh edition. Yet again, it shows that private equity and venture capital-backed companies created jobs far more than the overall European economy. Companies in our ever-expanding data set increased employee numbers by 4% in 2024, well above the 1% growth seen across all European businesses. They employed 11.4 million people, almost as much as the working populations of Finland and the Netherlands combined.

When we first published Private Equity at Work, our aim was to demonstrate that private equity and venture capital create jobs rather than destroy them. We have unambiguously made that point.

According to our data, companies yield a 35% job creation rate in their first year of ownership, challenging the common belief that firms typically reduce staff following investment. Instead, the early hiring wave reflects the employment growth needed to scale companies, fulfil new strategies, and increase operational capacity. Job creation decreases over the holding period yet remains positive and important, with a 10% job creation rate in the fifth year.

What also emerges from our data is how private equity and venture capital-backed businesses support people, communities and regions. And how they are reshaping European skills and focus.

Across all regions, companies are hiring people at rates well ahead of regional employment growth. Businesses in many countries are growing far faster: Belgium (+11.9%), Bulgaria (+11.6%), Poland (+11.1%), Austria (+10.7), Greece (9.7%). Digging deeper still, there is significant net job creation in major cities and smaller sub-regions. Companies in Gotland achieved growth of 38% in 2024, the Southern Great Plain region around Szeged in Hungary grew by 32%, the Brussels capital region grew by 28%, Vienna by 13%, and Ulster was up by 12%. Private equity and venture capital net job creation supports prosperity which flows into local communities and economies.

There is also outsized employment growth in sectors that will define Europe’s future. There were 5.3% net new jobs created in the already sizeable ICT sector, 6.2% more jobs added in Energy & Environment, and 7.8% in Financial & Insurance Activities, the hub of Europe’s world-leading fintech industry. The highest growth in 2024, however, was seen in Real Estate, which created 24.6% new jobs – around half of which was generated by hiring at one company! Private equity and venture capital firms can also revitalise companies in traditional sectors and strengthen their positions as employers and sources of growth.

Net job creation is a hallmark of private equity and venture capital ownership and governance. This is good news for individuals, their families, and the communities in which they live. It also benefits our economy and society and will ensure that Europe has the skills to become more competitive, innovative and sustainable.