The Netherlands reported the highest job vacancy rate in the European Union in the fourth quarter of 2025, at 3.9%, according to new Eurostat data.
Other countries to report a high job vacancy rate for the month included Belgium (3.5%) and Malta (3.3%), with three countries, Germany, Cyprus and Austria, reporting a rate of 2.8%.
At the other end of the scale, the lowest job vacancy rate was recorded in Romania (0.6%), followed by Poland (0.7%) and Bulgaria (0.8%), Spain (0.9%) and Finland (0.9%).
Across the European Union, the job vacancy rate stood at 2.0% in the fourth quarter of last year, the same as the previous quarter and down from 2.3% in the corresponding quarter a year earlier. In the euro area, the job vacancy rate stood at 2.2% in Q4 2025.
Euro area job vacancy rate at 2.2% in Q4 2025 (EU 2.0%) https://t.co/9FzzJCVYyl pic.twitter.com/E0BqZqVCXC
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) March 18, 2026
Over the course of 2025, six Member States saw rising vacancy rates, with Lithuania (+0.3 percentage points) and Malta (+0.4 percentage points) showing the largest increases, while 14 countries experienced declines, most notably Austria (-0.8 percentage points) and Belgium (-0.6 percentage points), Eurostat noted.
Sector by sector
Breaking down by sector, the industry and construction segment in the euro area recorded a vacancy rate of 2.1% (or 1.9% in the EU), while services were slightly higher at 2.4% (or 2.2% in the EU).
Again looking specifically at the euro area, within services, the highest demand was seen in administrative and support service activities (3.4%) and professional, scientific, and technical activities (2.5%). Other sectors with notable job vacancy levels included construction (3.3%), accommodation and food services (2.5%), and information and communication (2.3%). Read more here.
