In the EU, some 31,000 chemical and pharmaceutical companies employ a total staff of about 1.9 million, or 6% of the overall workforce in the manufacturing industry. Chemicals alone account for 1.2 million employees. Employment in the EU chemical industry has decreased by 2.1% over the last 10 years. Employment in the USA has experienced a steeper decline for chemicals over the same period with a decrease of 2.7%.