6.2 million people are employed as formal care workers, mostly women.
Social PolicyEuropean Union
- Omissions
- The data is from 2022, making it 4 years old at the time of the claim (2026-05-20). The MEP did not specify the reference year, presenting the figure as if it were current. More recent data for the same broad 'formal care workers' category was not found in available searches; a narrower 2023 Eurostat figure for long-term care (LTC) workers alone was 3.1 million, suggesting the 6.2 million figure may not reflect the most up-to-date employment levels.
- The MEP did not cite the source of the 6.2 million figure. The data originates from Eurostat and was disseminated via EU-level reports and projects (e.g. Eldicare 2.0).
- The claim that formal care workers are 'mostly women' is broadly accurate but was not quantified; Eurostat data consistently shows women represent around 80-90% of the care workforce across EU Member States.
- Sources
- SecondaryEldicare 2.0 – EU Data ObservatoryAround 6.2 million people were professional care workers in 2022, accounting for around 3% of total EU employment.
- SecondaryThe Brussels TimesThere are 6.2 million formal carers and 53 million informal carers in the EU, said Eleonora Meleti, the Parliament's rapporteur for the dossier.