EU exports support more than 30 million jobs across the Union.

Omissions

• The official 33.5 million figure refers specifically to jobs supported by exports to non-EU (extra-EU) countries in 2023, not to all trade-related employment including intra-EU trade, which yields higher figures (36–38 million in earlier Commission reports).
• The second part of the claim ('contributing in one way or another to almost half of our European GDP') could not be verified with a source found in this search; the verified statistic concerns jobs supported by exports, not the share of GDP. GDP-share figures for extra-EU exports alone are considerably below half of EU GDP.
• The source page (DG Trade 'Trade and jobs') was most recently updated with 2023 data and is the official reference for this statistic.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission DG Trade — Trade and jobsThe jobs of 33.5 million people in the EU were supported by exports to non-EU countries in 2023. They accounted for 15.4% of total EU employment.
• PrimaryEuropean Commission Press Release MEMO/18/6567 — EU exports sustain 38 million jobs (report on trade and jobs)Between 2000 and 2017, EU jobs supported by exports to the rest of the world increased by 66% to reach 36 million. This is 14.3 million additional jobs.
• PrimaryEurostat — Eurostat News (Pharmaceutical exports supported 926 000 EU jobs)32 million jobs linked to non-EU [exports] (Eurostat cross-reference to total EU employment supported through exports to non-EU countries).