Defence sector outpaces overall job market in Europe amid rising security priorities

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2 days ago

EU member states increased their total defence spending by over 30% between 2021 and 2024, rising from €214 billion to an estimated €326 billion, according to the European Defence Agency.
Europe's defence industry is also facing growing labour needs, leading to a rise in job postings. Hiring has increased sharply across Europe's defence sector compared to the broader job market, according to global hiring platform Indeed.
Defence-related job postings have outpaced overall market trends since 2022. France, Germany, and the UK remain the main hubs for defence recruitment.
Security has long been a key priority for Europe, but it has taken on greater importance since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. More recently, tensions have also escalated in the Middle East due to the conflict involving Israel and Iran. Job postings data suggests that all have an impact on Europe's defence industry, according to Indeed.
Following a pandemic-driven decline in 2020, job postings in both the defence sector and the overall labour market initially recovered at a similar pace. However, their paths diverged sharply beginning in early 2022, around the time of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.
Overall job postings peaked in July 2022 at 46% above their 2021 average. The index used for this data sets 2021 average monthly postings at 100. Since that peak, overall postings have declined.
In contrast, defence-related postings continued to rise, reaching twice their 2021 average by November 2022, when the index peaked at 201.
Although postings in the defence sector have eased somewhat since then, they remained 41% above 2021 levels as of May 2025. The broader job market, by comparison, has dipped slightly below its 2021 benchmark, standing at 99.5 index points.
The companies included in the analysis are mostly private-sector employers. Roles within the armed forces are not considered.
'Jobseeker interest in the defence sector has increased since the outbreak of the war, particularly in Germany, where search activity spiked in early 2022 and has remained elevated,' Virginia Sondergeld, economist at Indeed Hiring Lab, told Euronews Business.
'This illustrates how geopolitical events can shape public perception of the sector and potentially attract new talent.'
She noted that sustaining and expanding a skilled workforce in defence requires long-term public investment.
'If such funding continues, the sector could experience a structural rise in its relevance within the labour market,' she added.
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France accounts for the largest share of European job postings from major defence companies, with about 43% as of May 2025. This is down from 57% in early 2020.
Germany and the UK each make up 17% of postings. The share from other European countries has grown from 7% to 23% in this period. This is 'reflecting geographical diversification of defence investment and hiring' according to Indeed economist Alexandre Judes and Virginia Sondergeld.
France, Germany, and the UK each have large and specialised defence industries. Judes and Sondergeld explained that France aims for full-spectrum autonomy through companies like Dassault, Thales, and Safran. Germany, home to Rheinmetall and Hensoldt, plays a key role in NATO's future land systems and the UK has a strong presence in naval and aerospace platforms through BAE Systems. As these firms expand production and innovation, demand for skilled talent in software, engineering, and manufacturing continues to grow.
Several major European defence firms operate across borders. Companies like Airbus Defence and Space, MBDA, and KNDS lead joint European programmes in aerospace, missile systems, and armoured vehicles.
In the UK, jobseeker interest in defence rose slightly after the Ukraine war began in 2022 but has stayed mostly flat since. In contrast, interest has grown in France and Germany.
'In the UK, the defence sector was already relatively large, and policy changes were more incremental, attracting less public attention and likely resulting in smaller shifts in jobseeker perception,' Virginia Sondergeld said.
In France, defence-related searches reached 0.18% in April 2025, up from 0.08% in 2021. Germany saw the sharpest early increase. The share of searches jumped from 0.026% in January 2022 to 0.084% in March 2022 and has stayed high.
Despite these changes, Indeed economists point out that defence remains a niche field. Even in countries with rising interest, defence-related searches still make up a small share of total job searches.
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Software development leads in the UK, making up 14.5% of total job postings by major European defence companies. Its share is 11.9% in France and 10.2% in Germany.
In France, industrial engineering ranks highest, accounting for 19% of postings. Engineering, manufacturing, and management roles are also key across defence firms.
Sondergeld said that current market conditions may favour defence recruiters as postings in traditional tech roles have declined sharply across Europe in recent years.
Dr. Calle Håkansson, a researcher at the Swedish Defence Research Agency, explained that the increase in defence job postings and hiring is clearly linked to rise in defence spending across Europe. Defence companies—from major prime contractors to smaller subcontractors— need to recruit more personnel to meet growing demand in light of the deteriorating security situation in Europe and globally.
He pointed out that global military expenditure has actually seen its steepest rise since the end of the Cold War according to recent figures from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
'This development is clearly impacting the defence industry across Europe, with steadily growing order books and increased demand for production capacity which consequently affects hirings within the sector,' Håkansson told Euronews Business.
He stated that growing security concerns in Europe have increased interest in careers within the defence sector.
'For example, in Sweden, the defence company Saab has recently become one of the most attractive employers among newly graduated engineers,' he added.
Dr. Caroline Batka, senior military analyst at Comenius University, emphasised that Europe's defence industry is expanding as NATO has proposed raising defence spending to above 2% of GDP.