Data extracted in December 2025
Planned article update: 18 March 2026
Highlights
2.1% of jobs in the euro area and 2.0% of jobs in the EU were vacant in Q3 2025.
With 4.1%, the Netherlands had the highest job vacancy rate in the EU in Q3 2025.
Quarterly job vacancy rates, seasonally adjusted, Q1 2014 - Q3 2025
This article gives an overview of recent quarterly and annual job vacancy statistics, notably the job vacancy rate (JVR) in the European Union (EU) , Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
EU policies in the area of job vacancies aim to improve the functioning of the labour market by trying to help match supply and demand more closely. The European Jobs and Mobility Portal (EURES) was set up in order to enable job seekers to consult all vacancies publicised by the employment services of each EU country.
Job vacancies: latest developments
The job vacancy rate (not seasonally adjusted) in the euro area[1] was 2.1% in Q3 2025, down from 2.3% in Q2 2025 and down from 2.5% in Q3 2024. In the EU, the job vacancy rate was 2.0% in Q3 2025, a decrease from 2.1% in Q2 2025 and down from 2.3% in Q3 2024, as shown in Table 1.
Source: Eurostat (jvs_q_nace2)
Among EU countries (see Data sources for information concerning coverage), the highest job vacancy rates in Q3 2025 were recorded in the Netherlands (4.1%) and in Belgium (3.8%), followed by Malta (3.4%), Austria (3.2%) and Cyprus (3.0%). The lowest rates were observed in Romania (0.6%), Bulgaria and Poland (both 0.8%), followed by Spain (0.9%), Slovakia and Finland (1.0%).
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Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the job vacancy rate increased in 3 EU countries, remained stable in 4 EU countries and decreased in 20 EU countries. Except for Czechia, impacted by a methodological break in the first quarter of 2025, the largest decreases were recorded in Germany and Austria (-0.6 pp), Cyprus and Latvia (-0.5 pp) followed by Belgium and Finland (both -0.4 pp). Increases were observed in Malta (+0.3 pp), Lithuania (+0.2 pp) and Ireland (+0.1 pp).
Figure 2 presents information for annual job vacancy rates in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. In the euro area and the EU, job vacancy rates rose in 2022, followed by a slight decline in 2023 and a more significant decrease in 2024.
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Job vacancies: a backwards glance
In the euro area, the COVID-19 pandemic had a more pronounced impact on the job vacancy rate recorded in 2020 than the economic recession in 2009. In 2009, the job vacancy rate of the euro area decreased slightly compared with the year before (by 0.1 pp against 0.3 pp for the EU) and increased back to its initial level in 2010 already. By contrast, in 2020, the job vacancy rate fell by 0.5 pp with a recovery of 0.7 pp in 2021 and 2022. However, the job vacancy rate fell again by 0.2 pp in 2023 and by 0.4 pp in 2024.
In the EU, the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the job vacancy rates recorded in 2020, as was the case with the economic recession in 2009, but with a quicker recovery (see Figure 3). At the height of the crisis in 2009, the EU job vacancy rate fell by 0.3 pp compared with the year before, remained unchanged in 2010 before increasing by 0.3 pp in 2011 which offset the impact of the big recession. By contrast, there was a decrease of 0.5 pp in 2020 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic with a subsequent recovery of 0.6 pp in 2021 and 0.6 pp in 2022 whereas the job vacancy rate started diminishing again in 2023 (-0.2 pp) and then further decreased in 2024 (-0.4 pp).
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Figure 4 presents the development of the seasonally adjusted quarterly job vacancy rates in the euro area and in the EU between 2011 and 2025.
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Source: Eurostat (jvs_q_nace2)
Job vacancies: a breakdown by economic activity
Figure 5 presents the job vacancy rates of the euro area and the EU by economic activity, in Q3 2025. Data are displayed from section B to section N of the NACE Rev. 2 classification, for which data are available from all EU countries. The highest job vacancy rates, for the EU and the euro area, respectively, were recorded in
- Section N: ‘Administrative and support service activities’ that includes temporary employment agencies (3.3% in the euro area, 3.1% in the EU),
- Section F: ‘Construction’ (3.0% in the euro area, 2.7% in the EU),
- Section M: ‘Professional, scientific and technical activities’ (2.6% in the euro area, 2.4% in the EU),
- Section I: ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ (2.4% in the euro area, 2.3% in the EU), and
- Section J: ‘Information and communication’ (2.3% in the euro area, 2.2% in the EU).
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Source: Eurostat (jvs_q_nace2)
Job vacancy rate by occupation and NUTS 1 region – experimental statistics
Labour shortages are among the main challenges faced by the EU industry: ‘Europe is close to full employment. Instead of millions of people looking for jobs, millions of jobs are looking for people. Labour and skills shortages are reaching record levels – both here and across all major economies. It is also one of the most significant bottlenecks for our competitiveness (State of the Union 2023)’.
It is therefore important to provide policy makers and social partners, at national and European levels, with adequate data on the demand side of the labour market. This data need is only partly met with the existing job vacancy statistics that are not available by occupation and region although this would be necessary for a detailed assessment of recruitment bottlenecks. Indeed, collecting these additional breakdowns from statistical surveys would sizably increase the cost and burden for respondents.
Eurostat used instead data on online job advertisements (‘OJA’), from Eurostat’s Web Intelligence Hub, and EU-LFS data on the number of employees (‘SAL’), to break down the total number of job vacancies and occupied posts, respectively, by occupation and region. The job vacancy rate is then derived, at the three digits level of the classification of occupations (ISCO) and by NUTS 1 region and disseminated as “experimental statistics”. For detailed information on its calculation, please refer to our methodological note.
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Source: Eurostat (jvs_a_isco3_r1)
In the EU, in 2024, “Sales, marketing, and development managers” recorded the highest job vacancy rate (8.4%), ahead of “Manufacturing labourers” and “Other clerical support workers” (both 7.3%). “Other sales workers” (6.1%) and “Artistic, cultural and culinary associate professionals” (6.0%) complete the top 5 occupations with the highest job vacancy rates (see Figure 6).
Some occupations such as healthcare workers and teachers are not shown on the chart although they may also face recruitment difficulties. This could be because these positions are often not advertised on the web. In particular, the following ISCO positions have been excluded from the dataset due to their under-representation in OJA data: “OC234 Primary School and Early Childhood Teachers”, “OC233 Secondary Education Teachers”, “OC541 Protective Services Workers”, “OC335 Government Regulatory Associate Professionals”, “OC411 General Office Clerks”, “OC521 Street and Market Salespersons”, “OC711 Building Frame and Related Trades Workers”, “OC412 Secretaries (general)”, “OC322 Nursing and Midwifery Associate Professionals”, “OC921 Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Labourers”. On the contrary, IT related occupations may be over-represented in OJA data.
Figure 7 displays the most demanded skills in the EU (in native language) in 2024.
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
Eurostat publishes quarterly and annual data on the number of job vacancies and the number of occupied posts. This information is collected on a quarterly basis from the national statistical authorities under the Regulation on quarterly statistics on Community job vacancies. The data may be analysed by economic activity at the NACE section level and by size of enterprise, while data are collected on a voluntary basis by occupation or by region. Annual data for the job vacancy rate are unadjusted information calculated directly from the quarterly data. Some of the data provided by the EU countries fail to match common criteria and there may be differences in the coverage between countries. As a result, there are currently no EU totals for the actual numbers of job vacancies or occupied posts, work is currently underway to remove these differences in coverage. Note that the data presented for Denmark relates to NACE Sections B to N, rather than the broader aggregate of NACE Sections B to S used for the other EU countries. In France and Italy, 'Public administration and defence; compulsory social security' (NACE Rev. 2 section O) is not surveyed while public institutions are not fully covered in 'Education' as well as 'Human health and social work activities' (NACE Rev. 2 sections P and Q). Due to a methodological change there is a break in series for Czechia in 2025Q1. Primary data are collected by the Labour Office from administrative sources. With the introduction of an amendment to the Employment Act (No 470/2024), in force from 1 January 2025, vacancies older than 6 months are automatically closed unless the employer registers them again. As a consequence, since the first quarter of 2025 the number of vacancies have been sizably lower compared with previous periods. The EU and euro area job vacancy rates are calculated on the basis of the information that is available, no estimates are made for missing or incomplete data.
The source dataset for online job advertisements covers over 100 million ads posted in EU countries, collected from several hundred web sources including job search engines and public employment services' websites. To the extent possible, automatic systems filter out multiple postings for the same vacancy. Online job advertisements usually include data on the characteristics of the job (e.g. occupation and location), of the employer (e.g. economic activity) and requirements (e.g. education/skills). This information, only available as unstructured data (natural language text), is processed and classified according to main international classifications.
Context
Job vacancy statistics provide information on the level and structure of labour demand. The job vacancy rate may, in part, reflect the unmet demand for labour, as well as potential mismatches between the skills and availability of those who are unemployed and those sought by employers. Job vacancy statistics are used by the European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) to analyse and monitor the development of the labour market at national and European level. These statistics are also a key indicator used for an assessment of the business cycle and for a structural analysis of the economy.
Policy developments in this area have focused mainly on trying to improve the labour market by matching supply and demand more closely, through:
- modernising and strengthening labour market institutions, notably employment services;
- removing obstacles to worker mobility across Europe;
- better anticipating skill needs, labour market shortages and bottlenecks;
- managing economic migration;
- improving the adaptability of workers and enterprises so that there is a greater capacity to anticipate, trigger and absorb economic and social change.
The European jobs and mobility portal (EURES) was set-up with the aim of providing job seekers in the EU with the opportunity to consult all job vacancies publicised in each of the EU countries' employment services. The website provides access to a range of job vacancies from 31 European countries (27 EU countries, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland). In March 2022, there were almost nearly 4.0 million vacant posts advertised in EURES.
European job days are another EU initiative in this domain, with hundreds of events being organised across Europe. These aim to raise awareness about the opportunities and practicalities of living and working in another European country, encouraging mobility throughout the EU and putting job candidates in touch with employers who have job vacancies. Such events typically include job fairs, seminars, lectures, workshops and cultural events, all aimed at improving labour mobility.
Footnotes
- Euro area (EA) - data presented here is for EA-20, after 1 January 2023. ↑
Explore further
Other articles
Database
- Job vacancy statistics by NACE Rev. 2 activity - quarterly data (from 2001 onwards) (jvs_q_nace2)
- Job vacancy statistics by NACE Rev. 2 activity, occupation and NUTS 2 regions - quarterly data (jvs_q_isco_r2)
- Job vacancy rate by NACE Rev. 2 activity - annual data (from 2001 onwards) (jvs_a_rate_r2)
- Job vacancy statistics - historical data (jvs_h)
- Job vacancy statistics by occupation, NUTS 2 regions and NACE Rev. 2 activity - annual data (2008-2015) (jvs_a_nace2)
- Job vacancy statistics by occupation, NUTS 2 regions and NACE Rev. 1.1 activity - annual data (2000-2008) (jvs_a_nace1)
- Job vacancy statistics by NACE Rev. 1.1 activity - quarterly data (2001Q1-2009Q4) (jvs_q_nace1)
Thematic section
- Job vacancies
Publications
See also the latest:
Selected datasets
- Job vacancies in number and % - NACE Rev. 2, B-S), quarterly data (tps00172)