The Netherlands boasted the highest job vacancy rate of any EU country in the third quarter of the year, with a rate of 4.3%, new data from Eurostat has revealed.
Other high vacancy rates were recorded in Belgium (4.2%), Austria (3.8%), Cyprus (3.5%) and Czechia (3.3%).
At the other end of the scale, the lowest job vacancy rate (in countries for which data is available) was recorded in Romania (0.8%), Bulgaria (0.8%), Poland (0.9%) and Spain (0.9%).
Job vacancy rate in European Union
In the third quarter of the year, the job vacancy rate stood at 2.3% in the European Union, down from 2.4% in the previous quarter and 2.7% in the corresponding period a year earlier. In the euro area, meanwhile, the rate stood at 2.5% in Q3, down from 2.6% the previous quarter and 3.0% the previous year.
Compared with the third quarter of 2023, the job vacancy rate increased in five EU countries, with the biggest increases seen in Cyprus (+0.6 percentage points) and Greece (+0.5 percentage points), and Germany seeing the biggest decrease, of 1.1 percentage points.
In terms of sectors, the job vacancy rate stood at 2.0% in industry and construction, and 2.5% in services in the EU in the third quarter of 2024. Read more here.
Job vacancy rate by EU member state, Q3 2024 (%)
| Country | Job Vacancy Rate (%) |
|---|---|
| Netherlands | 4.3 |
| Belgium | 4.2 |
| Austria | 3.8 |
| Cyprus | 3.5 |
| Czechia | 3.3 |
| Malta | 3.1 |
| Germany | 3.0 |
| Latvia | 2.6 |
| France | 2.5 |
| Slovenia | 2.4 |
| Hungary | 2.2 |
| Greece | 2.1 |
| Lithuania | 2.1 |
| Italy | 1.9 |
| Sweden | 1.9 |
| Estonia | 1.7 |
| Croatia | 1.5 |
| Luxembourg | 1.4 |
| Portugal | 1.4 |
| Finland | 1.4 |
| Ireland | 1.2 |
| Slovakia | 1.2 |
| Spain | 0.9 |
| Poland | 0.9 |
| Bulgaria | 0.8 |
| Romania | 0.8 |
| Denmark | n/a |
