In 2020 there was an unprecedented global employment loss – of 114 million jobs relative to 2019 – according to the International Labour Organisation. As the crisis is ongoing, unemployment  is expected to rise  8.6 percent in 2021 in the European Union alone,  with the retailing, leisure and hospitality sectors being the most affected.  This translates into a real danger of widening the inequality gap and its impact could be felt for years. As governments do everything they can to stop this job crisis from turning into a social crisis, they should be looking at the startups. 

Startups are by far the biggest job creators across the board, they create an average of 3 million new jobs annually” the keyword being new. The importance of startups in job creation is underrepresented as policymakers have a strong focus on the standard employment policy paradigm and the very large aggregate picture (for example the national unemployment rate). However, job growth is, in fact, almost entirely driven by startups rather than old industries. 

This begs the question: as policy makers formulate new laws for the digital economy, are they thinking about job creation? As COVID-19 continues to hit worldwide economies and unemployment grows, every regulation should have job creation and economic growth at its heart.  The objective should be that in 10 years entrepreneurs say that they were able to start their business because of EU regulation, not the opposite. 

Policy makers, think about startups as #1 job creators when regulating the digital economy. 

Oftentimes legislation is made without thinking about the effects on smaller (but mighty) economic actors. Our Rocket Club is designed to create bridges between regulators and innovators. At this critical time, society, entrepreneurs and policy makers can benefit from a closer bond. That way, policy makers can be closer to first-hand problems innovators face when designing innovations with the potential to change the world and regulate to enhance startup potential, not hamper it. 

The Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA)  Data regulation and AI are all opportunities to promote future job creation, we want to see policy makers seize the opportunity by factoring in startups in digital regulation!