The Netherlands boasted the highest job vacancy rate in the EU in Q1 2025

The Netherlands boasted a job vacancy rate of 4.2% in the first quarter of 2025, the highest in the European Union, new data from Eurostat has revealed.

According to the Q1 2025 data, other countries to boast an above-average job vacancy rate included Belgium (4.1%), Austria (3.6%), Malta (3.0%), Cyprus (2.9%) and Germany (2.7%).

At the other end of the scale, the lowest job vacancy rate in the quarter was recorded in Romania (0.6%), followed by Poland (0.8%), Bulgaria (0.9%) and Spain (0.9%).

Lithuania reported the largest increase in job vacancy rate, of 0.2 percentage points, while Greece and Austria both recorded the largest decreases, of 0.9 percentage points each.

Compared to the same quarter last year, 20 EU Member States saw declines in their vacancy rates, while five saw increases, and two remained unchanged. No data was available for Denmark.

Job vacancy rate in the EU

For the first quarter of 2025, the job vacancy rate stood at 2.2% in the European Union, down from 2.3% in the previous quarter and 2.6% in Q1 2024.

In the euro area specifically, the rate stood at 2.4%, down from 2.5% in the previous quarter and 2.9% a year earlier.

At an EU level, the job vacancy rate in services stood at 2.5%, while in industry and construction, it was 1.9%. In the euro area, these rates stood at 2.7% and 2.1%, respectively.

Breakdown by economic activity

Looking at job vacancy rates by economic activity, the highest job vacancy rates in the EU were in administrative and support services at 3.7%, accommodation and food services at 3.3%, professional and technical activities at 3.1%, construction at 2.8%, and information and communication at 2.5%.

According to Eurostat, the job vacancy rate measures the proportion of total posts that are vacant, expressed as a percentage. Read more here.

Job Vacancy Rate by EU Member State, Q1 2025 (%)

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