The latest Eurostat data for the second quarter of 2024 reveals a noticeable decline in job vacancy rates across Europe. Both the euro area and the European Union (EU) have experienced reductions, suggesting a potential softening in labour demand across Europe
- The job vacancy rate in the euro area decreased to 2.6% in Q2 2024, down from 2.9% in the previous quarter and from 3.1% in Q2 2023.
- Across the EU27, the rate fell to 2.4%, compared to 2.6% in Q1 2024 and 2.9% a year earlier.
Understanding the Job Vacancy Rate
The job vacancy rate (JVR) is a crucial indicator of the labour market’s health, measuring the proportion of unfilled job positions out of the total number of occupied and vacant jobs. It is calculated using the formula:
Job Vacancy Rate = Number of Job Vacancies / (Number of Occupied Posts + Number of Job Vacancies)
A high vacancy rate suggests strong demand for labour, often indicating a growing economy or a shortage of skilled workers. Conversely, a declining vacancy rate may point to a cooling economy or an easing of labour shortages.
Country-Specific Insights
There is considerable variation among EU member states. Belgium and the Netherlands both have the highest job vacancy rates at 4.4%, suggesting robust labour demand in these countries. Austria follows with a rate of 4.0%.
On the lower end, Romania reports the lowest vacancy rate at 0.7%,while Bulgaria has a rate of 0.8%, and Poland and Spain both stand at 0.9%.
Comparing Q2 2023 to Q2 2024, Germany experienced the largest decrease in job vacancy rates, dropping by 1.0 percentage point to 3.1%. Austria and Sweden also saw significant declines of 0.9 and 0.8 percentage points, respectively. In contrast, Greece reported the most substantial increase, with its vacancy rate rising by 0.9 percentage points to 2.5%
Read more:
- Eurostat, Euro Indicators, Job Vacancy Rate Q2 2024. Released 13 September 2023.
Region definitions:
- Euro area (EA20): Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.
- European Union (EU27): Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.