The number of IT and other jobs in the European Union (EU) looks set to rise significantly over the coming five years, a study claims.

Conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), the report forecasts cloud computing uptake will increase by 2015, adding an extra €177.3 billion to the leading five economies in the region.

Sponsored by EMC, the research also suggests business development and enterprise creation driven by the cloud will increase employment through direct and indirect benefits.

The number of jobs created in this way could rise to as many as 2.396 million between now and 2015, the analysis predicts.

Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain are expected to lead the EU's cloud computing market, with Germany generating the largest proportion of value over the next five years (€37.4 billion).

"Cloud computing could also be an important driver of European business investment that will, in turn, drive European economies forward," said Cebr managing economist Oliver Hogan.

Recent figures from Eurostat revealed the EU's unemployment rate held steady at 9.6 per cent in October compared with September 2010, as the labor market stabilizes in the wake of the downturn.

Posted by Alex Donnell