LinkedIn strengthens European leadership with addition of German language platform

London – February 4, 2009 – LinkedIn has today further solidified its position as the European leader in professional networking with the launch of a German language version of the site. With 35 million members globally, one person joins the network each second around the world. LinkedIn has more than nine million members in Europe, more than five times the members of its nearest competitor (1) and is the number one professional networking site in 43 European countries including the UK, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Italy. 

Building on the momentum of the Spanish and French language platforms launched in 2008, the German language platform will bring further growth to the company in Europe. LinkedIn saw a 200% increase in sign-ups following the launch of the French platform in November 2008, bringing the total number of French-speaking users past 700,000. The Spanish platform, launched in July 2008, helped LinkedIn move into top position within one month of the launch and saw nearly 200,000 members join by the end of the second month (2). 

LinkedIn also enables its members to create multiple profiles in up to 41 different languages, fostering international engagement and knowledge transfer. Kevin Eyres, European Managing Director at LinkedIn commented, “Europe has adopted LinkedIn with incredible speed, bringing together the collective knowledge, expertise and opportunities of a vibrant mix of business cultures.” He continued, “Our success is based on a strong user-focussed approach and supported by a proven mix of revenues from advertising, job search, subscriptions and corporate recruiting. We’re seeing substantial growth in cross-language connections proving that the universal language of business is the network itself, whatever language it’s in.” 

The latest figures from LinkedIn in Q4 2008 demonstrate that steady growth across Europe was driven by a constant flow of innovations and developments to the product. Beyond the French and Spanish platforms and multiple-language profile capability, the company also introduced the LinkedIn Intelligent Applications (InApps) platform which enables companies to develop professional applications for the network. LinkedIn has worked with a selection of leading companies and applications from Amazon, Box.net, Google, Huddle, Six Apart, SlideShare, Tripit and WordPress are now available to LinkedIn members. 

Key trends amongst LinkedIn’s European users (3):

• More than 30% of LinkedIn’s total European membership comes from the IT, banking/finance and marketing/advertising sectors
• New members working in renewable energy helped drive growth across Europe, ranking as one of the top 10 fastest growing sectors across in the UK, France, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands
• In France alone, there was a 55% increase in new members from the environment and renewable energy sector
• Membership in the technology sector is growing across the board: semi conductor sector is up 43% in the UK and 55% in Spain, IT services is up 41% in France and electrical and electronic manufacturing up 47% in Germany
• Over 25% of the professional population in the Netherlands is on LinkedIn

Financial crisis driving users to LinkedIn:

• Despite being avid early adopters, there have been surges in users from the UK financial services (up 35%) and banking sector (up 42%)
• The retail sector is also making good use of the network, with the UK and Spain seeing membership rises from the sector of 37% and 52%, respectively
• Economic turbulence is also causing Spain (up 60%) and UK (up 40%) to see a rise in the recruitment and staffing sector as employers smarten up the way they search for fresh talent While LinkedIn is widely recognised as a valuable resource for both members looking for a new job as well as recruitment and HR professionals, staffing and recruiting is only the ninth highest sector of LinkedIn’s European membership.

Increasingly, people are turning to LinkedIn to help them solve problems and discuss business issues with people they trust – rather than just find a new job. “In today’s turbulent environment, people need to be able to interact with and leverage their professional network – no matter where in the world they may be and regardless of the languages they speak,” said Eyres. “More than 35 million professionals come to LinkedIn to share ideas, exchange knowledge and seek advice. As we will continue to expand the site into additional languages and markets, it means the entire LinkedIn community will have access to a more global and diverse resource.” 

A strong and attractive network of professionals flock to LinkedIn, with high-profile personalities on the site including executives of every company on the Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 alongside names such as Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Barack Obama. The LinkedIn network spans 170 industries with 75 percent of its network being university educated; 50 percent of its members are in decision-making positions. LinkedIn provides the platform members need to do business with fellow professionals efficiently, with the ideal situation for users to market their expertise and talents on an international scale. 

For more information please see the LinkedIn blog. 

About LinkedIn 
LinkedIn takes your personal business network online, giving you access to people, jobs and opportunities like never before. Built upon trusted connections and relationships, LinkedIn has established the world’s largest and most powerful business network. Currently, over 35 million professionals are on LinkedIn, representing all five hundred of the Fortune 500 companies, as well as a wide range of household names in technology, financial services, media, consumer packaged goods, entertainment, fashion, and numerous other industries. LinkedIn is backed by world-class investors including Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, the European Founders Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, Goldman Sachs, The McGraw-Hill Companies, and SAP Ventures.