Euro area job vacancy rate at 1.9%. EU rate at 1.8%

In the fourth quarter of 2020, the job vacancy rate was 1.9% in the euro area, up from 1.7% in the previous quarter and down from 2.2% in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to figures published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The job vacancy rate in the EU was 1.8% in the fourth quarter of 2020, also up from 1.7% in the previous quarter and down from 2.2% in the fourth quarter of 2019.

In the euro area, the job vacancy rate in the fourth quarter of 2020 was 1.7% in industry and construction, and 2.0% in services. In the EU,the rate was 1.7% in industry and construction, and 1.9% in services.

Member States

Among the Member States for which comparable data are available (see country notes), the highest job vacancy rates in the fourth quarter of 2020 were recorded in Czechia (5.0%), Germany (3.0%) and Belgium (2.9%). In contrast, the lowest rates were observed in Greece (0.5% in the third quarter of 2020), as well as in Bulgaria, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia (all 0.7%).

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the job vacancy rate fell in twenty-three Member States and remained stable in Denmark, Ireland, Cyprus and Luxembourg. The largest decreases were recorded in Latvia (-1.1 pp), Czechia (-0.9 pp) and the Netherlands (-0.7 pp).