EMPLOYMENT AND ADDED VALUE IN EUROPEN UNION BIOECONOMY – A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE

The purpose of this paper is to assess the development of bioeconomy taking two basic socioeconomic indicators into account, namely the contribution to employment and increase in prosperity. In 2018, the European Union adopted an updated strategy regarding bioeconomy. The purpose of this strategy is to substitute fossil fuel (coal) with biomass-based materials in industry and energy production, at the same time preserving the natural environment. As a result of this, the need arises to analyse the development of bioeconomy with regard to sustainable development principles. For this purpose, it is required to define the criteria and indicators allowing to evaluate the direction and rate of changes. However, monitoring the importance of bioeconomy is impeded due to a lack of statistics that covering the just evolving sectors partially based on biomass. Available statistical data provided the grounds for analysing changes in employment and added value in bioeconomy in the EU, in total and in its individual sectors. The obtained results indicate a dropping share of bioeconomy in employment and an increasing level of added value of bioeconomy in the years 2008-2017. individual sectors showed a different share in employment and added value of bioeconomy, as well as diverse dynamics of changes.