The beer industry supported 23.1 million jobs and stimulated $555 billion (€487 billion) in gross value added (GVA) contributions to global GDP in 2019, an Oxford Economics report has revealed.
The worldwide report, assessing the beer industry’s global economic impact, found that one in every 110 jobs in the world is linked - through direct, indirect, or induced impact channels - to the beer sector.
Authored by Oxford Economics, on behalf of the Worldwide Brewing Alliance (WBA), the report evaluated the beer industry’s global economic impact between 2015 and 2019.
Pete Collings, director of economic impact consulting at Oxford Economics, said, “Our findings reveal that brewers are highly productive businesses that help raise average productivity across the entire global economy, meaning they have an extensive economic footprint that can make significant contributions to the recovery.”
Key Findings
The report unveiled that the beer industry helped generate $262 billion (€230 billion) in government tax revenue in the 70 countries included in the study, which account for 89% of beer sold worldwide, and supported an estimated 23.1 million jobs.
The report outlined various direct, indirect, and induced impact on global GDP, jobs, and taxes.
In terms of direct impact, brewing, marketing, distributing and selling of beer created 7,600,000 jobs and resulted in GVA contribution worth $200 billion (€175 billion) to the global GDP.
By purchasing goods and services from small, medium, and large businesses across the globe, the beer sector indirectly supported GDP, jobs, and tax income for governments, the study noted.
In terms of induced impact, by paying staff wages and supporting wages in their respective supply chains, brewers and their downstream value chain supported a $149 billion (€131 billion) GVA contribution to GDP and 6 million jobs in 2019.
Economic Significance
Globally, the beer sector was linked to one in every 131 USD of global GDP in 2019, but the sector’s economic significance was found to be larger in lower- and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) than in high income ones (1.6% vs. 0.9% of GDP).
In addition, the beer sector supports 1.4% of national employment in LMICs, compared with 1.1% in high income countries.
Justin Kissinger, president and CEO of the WBA, stated, “This landmark report puts a figure on the scale of our impact on job creation, economic growth and government tax revenue, and across a long, complex value chain, from barley fields to bars and restaurants.
“The beer sector is a vital engine of the economy. The success of the global economic recovery depends on it, and vice versa,” he added.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Drinks news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
