The Rate of Vacant Jobs in Croatia Increased in the First Quarter

The Rate of Vacant Jobs in the EU and the eurozone reached pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter, signaling greater difficulties for employers in finding workers, a trend that was also observed in Croatia, according to a report by Eurostat released on Wednesday.

In the EU, the rate of vacant jobs rose to 2.0 percent in the first quarter, the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic. In the last quarter of the previous year, it was 1.8 percent.

In the eurozone, it was 2.1 percent, which is also its highest level since the end of 2019. Compared to the last quarter of the previous year, it increased by 0.2 percentage points.

In both areas, the highest unmet demand for labor at the beginning of the year was recorded in the services sector, with a vacancy rate of 2.2 percent in the eurozone and 2.1 percent in the EU.

In the industry and construction sectors, it was 1.9 percent in both the EU and the eurozone.

Employers’ Troubles in the Czech Republic

Among the EU countries for which the European statistical office had data, employers in the Czech Republic had the hardest time finding workers, recording a vacancy rate of five percent.

Belgium and the Netherlands followed, where the rates were 3.5 and three percent, respectively.

In Croatia, the vacancy rate increased to 1.5 percent in the first quarter, matching the level from the beginning of last year. In the last quarter of the previous year, it was 1.0 percent.

The lowest unmet demand for labor in the first three months of this year was recorded in Greece and Spain, at 0.3 and 0.7 percent, respectively, according to Eurostat data.

The European statistical office did not have data for France and Ireland.

Compared to the first quarter of last year, the vacancy rate fell the most in the Czech Republic and Luxembourg, by 0.7 percentage points, and in Sweden, by 0.4 percentage points.

The largest increases were recorded in Italy, Lithuania, and the Netherlands, by 0.8, 0.5, and 0.4 percentage points, respectively, according to the Eurostat report.