The report elaborates on the activities of the Office for Economic Development and various funding programmes which are specifically tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses and other startups. "Hard" settlement factors are of equal importance to "soft" location factors which reflect the quality of life in Leipzig and the family-friendly attitudes of many companies.
Approximately 20,000 new jobs in the last 3 years
The creation of approximately 20,000 new jobs (all subject to social security contributions) in a variety of sectors in the past three years is particularly important. By way of comparison, this figure alone is more than twice as large as the number of industrial jobs in Leipzig at the time of Porsche's decision to open a site in Leipzig in September 1999.
Developments in the healthcare & biotech cluster have made a vital contribution to this. Leipzig has become a bastion of healthcare. This is evidenced on the one hand by the large number of international medical trade shows and conventions. On the other hand, in Leipzig research is conducted to develop innovative technology for tomorrow's healthcare industry. The findings are then honed and applied. Pioneering research institutes, clinics, commercial companies and startups specialise in areas such as smart medical products, e-health applications and high-performance diagnostics.
Change through digitalisation
The reporting period coincided with a significant upgrade to the rapid change with the digitalisation of the structure of offices in the Leipzig city administration. This is reflected in the foundation of the Digital City Unit, among other things. "Our certainty that integrating economic affairs, employment and digital will promote development is rooted in the pooling of many different actors and activities from the entire city administration, the private sector and civil society. Administrative action needs to be rethought. We are working to create new spaces for joint thinking and action - within a centre of innovation known as the Digital Hub," says Uwe Albrecht in the preface to the facts and figures.
Leipzig Means Business
The report is available for free in German and English:
- at the New Town Hall, Room 29
- by phone 0341 123-5859
- and online at www.leipzig.de/download-business