Economy is doing well in Kerkrade, especially medical technology sector growing fast
The economy in Kerkrade is growing above average. More and more jobs are being created in our town, especially in medical technology. This is stated in the report of research firm Etil for the period 2021-2022.
Every year, Etil investigates how the economy is doing in Limburg. An important figure they examine in this regard is the number of jobs.
In total, there are now 16,175 jobs in Kerkrade
A total of 481 jobs were added in Kerkrade during the 2021-2022 period. This is an increase of 3.1% compared to the previous period. As a result, the total number of jobs in Kerkrade now stands at 16,175. It is the largest growth in all of Parkstad Limburg; in fact, it is much higher than the average growth in Limburg and the Netherlands.
Alderman Alexander Geers (Economic Affairs) is very happy about this. "This is very good news for our town," he says. "The municipality and the Kerkrade entrepreneurs are working hard for this. Fortunately, the number of jobs has been rising every year since 2017, but this is the biggest increase in a decade. This shows us that our approach is working and gives us good hope for the future!"
More and more businesses in Kerkrade business parks
That more jobs are being created in Kerkrade is because more and more companies are buying a piece of land in a Kerkrade business park. In 2021, the municipality sold as much as 11 hectares of land to companies. That much was not sold in any municipality in South Limburg. So a lot is happening on the Kerkrade business park. For example, existing companies are getting bigger and new ones are being added. And where there used to be older buildings, new energy-efficient commercial buildings are now being built.
Many new jobs added in medical technology
Etil's research also shows that throughout Parkstad Limburg, many jobs are being created in the field of medical technology (medtech). The number of jobs in the medtech sector has almost doubled in the last decade. There are now 5,300 people working in medtech companies in Parkstad Limburg, which is almost 5% of all jobs in the entire city region.
We also see this growth in the various business parks in the region. Nearly 18% of all jobs are with medtech companies. Especially at Medtronic, Boston Scientific, CEVA and Abbot many jobs were added. So this sector is very important for the economy in our region.
Alderman Geers: "There are huge growth opportunities within medical technology in Parkstad Limburg. We have gold in our hands with this sector. The Parkstad municipalities are therefore looking together with the medtech companies at what is needed to ensure that we can continue to maximize the opportunities of this sector in the coming years. So that our city region, alongside Chemelot in Geleen and Brainport in Eindhoven, can form an important southern Dutch growth engine for the regional and national economy."
