According to the newly-published 2021 Geography of Brain Business Jobs index, Denmark remains one of the best in Europe when it comes to its share of the population being employed in highly knowledge-intensive jobs.
The index (here in English) ranked Denmark fifth overall for last year, behind leaders Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherland and Luxembourg.
In the various sub-categories, Denmark ranked third for its tech sector, 11th for information and communications technology, 11th for advanced services, and first for creative professions.
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Some stumbling blocks
However, it was not all good news for Denmark, as the country was one of only four to see a decline in the rate of change in brain business jobs concentration (per 1,000 working age inhabitants) between 2014 and 2020.
Denmark saw a 3.2 percent decrease in that period, while Austria (-1.7 percent), Greece (-5.6 percent) and Iceland (-15.4 percent) also saw downturns.
“The challenge for Denmark is to compete for brain business jobs at a time when much of the growth is happening in the capital regions of eastern and central European countries, which combine talent supply with low costs for employing the talents,” the report found.
“Denmark has a strong leading position as a knowledge nation but needs to combine this with policies that reduce the costs of hiring knowledge workers.”
Denmark performed well in design and other creative work, research & development, and pharmaceuticals, when compared to the European average.
However, the report pointed to high tax levels when helping to explain why head offices are less than eager to locate to this otherwise leading knowledge-nation.
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Copenhagen in top 10
Germany, the UK, Finland, Ireland and Estonia completed the top 10, while other notables included Norway (13), Iceland (16), France (22), Spain (26) and Italy (28).
Romania ranked bottom, preceded by Greece and Poland.
When looking at regions, Copenhagen also fared well, ranking in the top 10 overall.
Bratislava finished first, followed by Prague, Budapest, Stockholm and Oberbayern, while a region composed of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, Paris, London, Copenhagen and Hamburg completed the top 10.
Check out the entire report here.
