"Freiburg is the home of the Haufe Group. As a company, we benefit just as much as our employees and their families from the excellent conditions in the city and the region: you can do both here - work successfully and live well."
Even working is nicer in Freiburg
Freiburg is the happy combination of quality of life and high-tech location in the border triangle region of Germany, France and Switzerland. With 235,000 inhabitants and 180,700 employees, Freiburg is the regional center of southern Baden and the center of the economic and scientific region on the southern Upper Rhine. It is characterized by a landscape of medium-sized companies and a strong service sector.
Freiburg's growth and future-oriented sectors include the environmental economy and renewable energies, IT and media, health and life sciences including medical technology, microsystems technology, measurement and control technology as well as tourism, trade fairs and congresses. Education, science and research form another important economic pillar in the university city of Freiburg. This gives rise to unique ideas and impulses, which in many cases lead to creative, dynamic start-ups with a high impact.
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Facts about Freiburg as a business location
- 180,700 people in employment with 137,600 employees subject to social insurance contributions (as of December 2022) - Further facts about the labor market in Freiburg can be found here
- Around a third of employees work in future-oriented fields with a high focus on knowledge (e.g. in research and development) - and the trend is rising!
- Steadily growing proportion of highly qualified people, starting from an already high level
- Strong economic region with a total of 74 cities and municipalities with 661,000 inhabitants, 436,000 of whom are of working age
- Part of the "Trinational Metropolitan Region of the Upper Rhine"
- Part of the "European Campus" of the Upper Rhine universities between Karlsruhe, Strasbourg, Colmar/Mulhouse, Freiburg and Basel
- Together with Basel (CH) and Strasbourg (F), one of the most important innovation hubs in the heart of Europe
- Company headquarters for fast-growing start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, hidden champions and global market leaders
Robust labor market offers prospects
The economic region of Freiburg - consisting of the city of Freiburg and the surrounding districts of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald and Emmendingen - has a low unemployment rate compared to the rest of Germany. The labor market remains very stable, which is anything but a matter of course given the general conditions. In June 2023, 13,850 people were registered as unemployed here, the unemployment rate in the region was 3.6% - for the city of Freiburg it was 5.0%.
Top economic growth in the country
Freiburg companies generated an economic output of around 13.7 billion euros in 2021, which corresponds to 2.5 percent of Baden-Württemberg's economic output. GDP per employee in Freiburg amounted to 75,884 euros in 2021. In terms of GDP growth, Freiburg took second place among the nine districts in Baden-Württemberg in 2021 with an increase of 7.1 percent. The nationwide "Prognos Zukunftsatlas 2022" classifies the city district of Freiburg as a "location with very good future prospects".
As in most other university cities in the state, the value-added share of the service sector in Freiburg is above average, which is reflected in the trade tax revenue by sector. The trade tax rate in Freiburg has remained unchanged at 430% since 2018.
Best transport connections for people, goods and raw materials
- EuroAirport Basel/Mulhouse: 50 min / 70 km
- Lahr cargo airport: 35 min / 50 km
- Three junctions to the A5 highway
- Travel time Basel: 55 min / 70 km
- Travel time Strasbourg: 1:05 hrs / 88 km
- Travel time Stuttgart: 2:30 hours / 200 km
- Rolling highway - Freiburg terminal
- Connection to important rail freight mainline Rotterdam-Cologne-Basel-Milan-Genoa > Rhine Valley rail with connection through the Alps
- Inland shipping: Rhine ports of Breisach and Kehl
FREIBURG SUCCESS STORIES
Birte Hackenjos
CEO of the Haufe Group
"The idea for JobRad came to me on my way to work, on my bike of course. Our company could not have been born in any other city than our beautiful cycling city of Freiburg."
Ulrich Prediger
Founder of JobRad
"In Freiburg and the region as a whole, there is great dynamism in the field of medical research and biotechnology."
Dr. Kathrin Brenker
Founder opto biolabs
"We have almost doubled our workforce in the last 6-7 years, have been given very high production volumes and have built a new plant."
Uwe Lürig
Head of Human Resources Pfizer Freiburg
"If we'd had a free choice, we might have started somewhere else, but Freiburg is fantastic for the work-life balance."
Dr. Max Gulde
Co-founder Constllr
"I have the scientific community to thank for getting to know this city full of life and beautiful surroundings."
Dr. Ayelen Groisman
Neuroscientist + biologist from Argentina
"We are proud to have grown up in Freiburg and to have found the conditions here for a strong foundation for our company."
Matthias Schüle
Owner and Managing Director Black Forest Medical Group
"We had optimal conditions here with the Hahn-Schickard Institute and were able to carry out our industrial small series production in clean rooms."
Natalie Garzorz-Stark + Katharina Dormanns
Founder Dermagnostix
The economic region around Freiburg
For investors and companies in the Freiburg region, the Freiburg Region Economic Development Agency is the central point of contact. It publicises the qualities of the business location, supports companies in their relocation and promotes the development of the location with projects and offers.
Do you have any questions?
Our team will be happy to provide you with specific information about Freiburg as a business hub with a wide range of opportunities.
Thomas Stoffel
Head of Economic Development Department
wirtschaftsfoerderung@fwtm.de
+49 761 3881-1202
