In the second quarter of 2023, the job vacancy rate was 3.0% in the euro area, down from 3.1% in the previous quarter and 3.2% in the second quarter of 2022, according to figures published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The job vacancy rate in the EU was 2.7% in the second quarter of 2023, down from 2.8% in the previous quarter and from 3.0% in the second quarter of 2022.
Member States
Among the Member States for which comparable data are available, the highest job vacancy rates in the second quarter of 2023 were recorded in the Netherlands (4.7%), Belgium (4.6%), and Austria (4.4%). By contrast, the lowest rates were observed in Bulgaria and Romania (0.8% in both of them), Spain and Poland (0.9% in both of them) and Slovakia (1.0%).
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the job vacancy rate increased in four Member States, remained stable in four Member States and decreased in nineteen Member States. The increases were observed in Greece (+0.4 pp), Cyprus (+0.2 pp), Portugal and Italy (both +0.1 pp). The largest decreases were recorded in Czechia (-1.2 pp), Denmark, Luxembourg and Finland (-0.8 pp in all of them).
Breakdown by economic activity
The highest job vacancy rates, for both the EU and the euro area, were recorded in: "Administrative and support service activities" that includes temporary employment agencies (4.5% in the euro area, 4.3% in the EU) followed by "Professional, scientific and technical activities" (4.0% in the euro area, 3.7% in the EU), "Construction" (4.0% in the euro area, 3.6% in the EU), "Accommodation and food service activities" (3.9% in the euro area, 3.7% in the EU) and "Information and communication" (3.4% in the euro area, 3.1% in the EU).
