The job vacancy rate in the European Union fell to 2.0% in the second quarter of 2026, down from 2.1% in the first quarter and 2.1% in the corresponding period last year, new data from Eurostat has revealed.
In the second quarter, there was a 2.1% job vacancy rate in the EU’s services sector, while industry and construction reported a rate of 1.8%.
In the euro area, the vacancy rate was higher at 2.1%, but this was also down from 2.3% in the first quarter and 2.2% a year earlier.
The Netherlands
The Netherlands recorded the highest job vacancy rate among EU countries for which data was available, at 4.1%. Belgium followed at 3.3%, followed by Malta (3.1%) and Austria (2.9%).
The lowest rates, meanwhile, were recorded in Romania (0.5%) and Poland and Bulgaria (both 0.8%), followed by Spain and Slovakia (both 0.9%).
Compared to the same quarter the previous year, the job vacancy rate increased in three Member States, remained stable in eight and decreased in 15.
The biggest increases were recorded in Slovenia (+0.3 percentage points), Greece (+0.2 pp) and Sweden (+0.1 pp), while the largest decreases were seen in Cyprus (-0.7 pp) and Belgium (-0.6 pp), followed by Austria (-0.5 pp), Estonia (-0.4 pp) and Italy (-0.3 pp).
Sector by sector
Construction recorded the highest vacancy rate among the main economic activities, at 3.0% in the euro area and 2.8% across the EU. Administrative and support service activities followed at 2.8% in both areas, while accommodation and food services recorded rates of 2.6% in the euro area and 2.5% in the EU.
Telecommunication, computer programming, consulting, computing infrastructure and other information services recorded vacancy rates of 2.3% in the euro area and 2.2% in the EU. Professional, scientific and technical activities recorded rates of 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively.
Within wholesale and retail trade, the vacancy rate was 2.0% in the euro area and 1.8% in the EU. Read more here.
