Euro area job vacancy rate at 2.3% (Second quarter of 2019)

The job vacancy rate in the euro area (EA19) was 2.3% in the second quarter of 2019, stable compared with the previous quarter and up from 2.1% in the second quarter of 2018, according to figures published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the EU28, the job vacancy rate was also 2.3% in the second quarter of 2019, stable compared with the previous quarter and up from 2.2% in the second quarter of 2018.

In the euro area, the job vacancy rate in the second quarter of 2019 was 2.0% in industry and construction, and 2.6% in services. In the EU28, the rate was 2.1% in industry and construction, and 2.6% in services.

Member States

Among the Member States for which comparable data are available (see country notes), the highest job vacancy rates in the second quarter of 2019 were recorded in Czechia (6.2%), Belgium and the Netherlands (both 3.4%).

In contrast, the lowest rates were observed in Greece (0.7%), Bulgaria and Spain (both 0.9%).

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the job vacancy rate in the second quarter of 2019 rose in ten Member States, remained stable in nine and fell in nine others. The largest increases were registered in Czechia (+0.8 pp), Latvia (+0.5 pp), Germany and Malta (both +0.4 pp). The largest decreases were registered in Croatia and Slovenia (both -0.3 pp).