Bucharest is among the top cities with the most and younger employees in the high technology industry
- The CBRE analysis highlighted the most important cities as a number of high-tech employees in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA);
- Bucharest has registered a 66% increase in the high-tech industry in the last ten years, reaching over 70,000 professionals
- Bucharest people working in the high-tech industry are among the youngest in Europe.
CBRE, the world's leading national real estate consultant, has conducted a thorough research in the region of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to determine the cities with the highest number of employees in the high-tech industry). With a set of spectacular indicators, Bucharest has ranked among the most highly skilled cities in the high technology industry, currently employing more than 70,000 people. The capital is placed in the category of the most active centers in this respect, alongside London, Dublin, Madrid or Budapest. Also, since 2008, the capital of Romania has registered one of the most important growth in Europe of the number of employees in this sector: 66%! Bucharest currently has a coefficient of the number of high technology professionals per city that is above the double of the European Union average.
The study included over 250 cities, out of which 40 high-tech centers were highlighted. These were comprised of four categories based on the number of employees, the sub-categories of the industry and the rhythm of growth. The high-tech industry has been divided into ten sub-categories: the software sector, IT services, telecom, hardware, online services, e-commerce, digital services (digital marketing and advertising, also media with focus on the digital element), gaming production and computer applications (gaming), fintech services and cyber security services. At Bucharest level, most high-tech employees work in software (36%), followed by hardware (21%), telecoms (20%), IT services (11%) and cyber security (8%). The high-tech sector in Bucharest is dominated by large international companies as a result of strengthening its status as a major provider of workforce in this field. Among major employers in the capital are major software, telecom and IT services companies, with major players such as Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, Luxoft, Endava, Vodafone, Ericsson or Hewlett Packard.
As a share of the age, the high-tech industry in Bucharest is dominated by the generation of the millennials (25-34 years), in contrast to other cities that are among the most important cities in the sector and where the balance is inclined to the more experienced professionals. This gap is caused by the tremendous growth that the high technology industry has recorded in Romania over the last decade. For example, in the last 5 years, CBRE Romania has provided consultancy and representation for important names in this industry, amounting to over 163,000 square meters, of which 50,000 square meters were built only in the years 2017-2018.
The findings of the study revealed that 40 cities can be classified as poles where the high-tech industry workforce is concentrated and which are markets of interest to major companies in the field. These have been categorized into four categories, depending on several factors, including the number of employees per inhabitant and the growth rate. Thus, the most active poles are the cities - capital cities or business centers - where over 70,000 professionals work, including London, Madrid, Dublin, Paris, Budapest and Bucharest. The second category includes major poles, meaning cities with between 50,000 and 70,000 employees, such as Zurich, Prague, Rotterdam or Vienna. The third group is represented by normal size centers with between 20,000 and 50,000 employees, including Oslo, Hamburg, Geneva and Brussels. Cities that have seen an increase in the number of high-tech workers by more than 10% since 2010 and for which growth is forecasted to continue and in the next five years fall into the fourth category, which includes names such as Florence, Krakow, Leeds or Porto.
"We believe this complex study, carried out with the concerted effort of hundreds of CBRE employees across EMEA, will be a real help for many high-tech companies and real estate developers alike. It is extremely important to know the most important markets in this industry and to know their economic, social and labor market specifics. For Romania, the results of the study are excellent news that reconfirms our privileged status as regards the growth of the high technology industry and the workforce in the IT sector and related fields," said Razvan Iorgu, Managing Director of CBRE Romania.