Labour shortages in the European nursery sector

Introduction
European nurseries increasingly face shortages of skilled and seasonal workers. Labour availability directly affects production capacity, delivery reliability and Europe’s ability to meet planting and climate ambitions. The European nursery sector is labour-intensive, and ENA data shows skilled nursery labour costs as a monitored industry indicator.

Key points

• ENA’s 2025 state-of-industry document includes “Cost of skilled nursery labour” per country.
• ENA reports approximately 35,654 nurseries, more than 133,000 hectares of production area and nearly 250,000 workers.
• The EU 3 Billion Trees roadmap identifies workforce shortages as a potential bottleneck for expanding nursery production capacity.

Topics
Labour shortages | Skilled labour | Seasonal labour

Relevant dates

• 25 June 2025 — ENA General Assembly / State of European Nursery Industry document
• 16 July 2021 — EU Forest Strategy / 3 Billion Trees roadmap

Research & policy links

• ENA industry statistics document
• EU 3 Billion Trees roadmap