The highest job losses were reported in the new member states, where employment fell by an average of 31.3% etween 2000 and 2009. The 'old' member states of the EU-1f fared somewhat better, recording an average decrease in labour input of 16.7%.
Portugal and Poland are the exceptions to this rule, recording decreases of 31.6% and 11.3% respectively.
Despite the steep falls recorded in the new member states, agricultural labour input in these countries still accounts for just over half (51.7%) of the EU-27 total.
Expressed in numbers, the EU-27 average of 25% represents a loss of 3.7 million full-time jobs, from 14.9 million in 2000 to 11.2 million in 2009. But as many farmers and farm workers are only seasonally employed, the number of people working in agriculture has not dropped as much, Eurostat notes.
Agricultural income 'up' by 5%
Between 2000 and 2009, real agricultural income per worker in the EU-27 increased by an average of 5%, but national figures ranged from a 140% increase in Latvia to a 28% fall in the Netherlands.
In general, the change differed significantly between the new member states (+61%) and the EU-15 (-10%).
Between 2008 and 2009, however, real agricultural income per worker fell by 11.6% in the EU-27. According to Eurostat, this was mainly caused by falling output prices.
Eurostat notes that 'agricultural income' refers to income generated from agricultural activities only and must not be confused with the total income of farming households, which also includes income from non-agricultural activities, salaries, social benefits and property.
Production stable
At the same time, the volume of agricultural production in the EU in 2009 was 4% higher than in 2000, thanks to productivity gains in particular in the EU-12, the statistics show.
However, average productivity still varies a lot between the old and new member states, and is over six times higher in the EU-15 than in the EU-12.
