The economic sector classification (WZ 2008) distinguishes between 21 economic sectors, which are often further summarized for analysis purposes. In mid-2023, the "Public and private services (excluding public administration)" sector had the most employees subject to social security contributions in the city of Bonn with 64,702 people, which corresponds to a share of 33.6 percent. This is followed by freelance, scientific and technical services, which now account for 12.3 percent of all employees, or 23,634 people. Employees in public administration are shown separately: At 11.9 percent of all employees subject to social security contributions, this sector remains highly relevant in Bonn and comprises 23,005 employees. With 20,859 employees, more than one in ten (10.8 percent) work in the information and communication sector. In total, these four areas alone account for well over two thirds of all employees in Bonn (68.6 percent proportionately, 132,000 employees in absolute terms).
Headquarters functions grow
The largest absolute growth of 1,625 employees subject to social insurance contributions was recorded in the area of freelance, scientific and technical services (up 7.4%). A closer look at the economic sectors reveals that most of this growth was in the administration and management of companies and businesses. This obviously reflects the particular locational advantages of the City of Bonn for such headquarters functions.
Hospitality industry almost at pre-corona level
The hospitality industry recorded the largest percentage growth in employees subject to social insurance contributions in 2023, with an increase of 10.3%. In absolute figures, this corresponds to an increase of 640 people to 6,878 employees in the sector as a whole. With a share of 98.1 percentage points of the absolute number of employees in 2019, the pre-coronavirus employment level was almost reached again. The public and private service providers sector (excluding public administration) continued to make a significant contribution to absolute employment growth with 781 employees (+1.2%). Public administration was also able to increase employment by 487 (+2.2%). The manufacturing industry stagnated with -12 employees (-0.1 percent). Notable employment losses can be seen in the retail sector in particular, with a drop of 240 employees subject to social insurance contributions (-1.7 percent).
Employment in Bonn grew strongly between 22/23
In summary, it should be noted that the developments in the individual sectors with their respective gains and losses between 2022 and 2023 have led to significant growth in employment of plus 2.1 percent or plus 3,893 employees in Bonn in absolute terms. It should be noted that this growth is being driven by a wide range of industries, particularly in the service sector. In the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the trend was also upwards by 0.7%, albeit at a much slower pace. Overall, the employment trend in the City of Bonn was once again very pleasing, even in a regional comparison. In the last three years alone, Bonn has gained around 13,000 employees subject to social security contributions (2023: +3,893, 2022: +5,480, 2021: +3,547). The percentage growth was always above the NRW state average. The absolute growth was driven in particular by strategically relevant economic sectors or industries of the future.
The structural changes of recent years show that employment growth in Bonn has been initiated almost exclusively by the service sector and that this is where the greatest impetus for growth or new jobs can be seen. This is why the proportion of all employees in the service sector has systematically increased in recent years to 93.1 percent. In contrast, the manufacturing industry has lost importance in the economic structure in relative terms. However, this is less due to the absolute change in employment figures (which have fluctuated between 13,000 and 14,000 employees in recent years) than to the strong dynamic growth in employment in selected branches of the service sector.