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Unemployment and labour shortages are serious issues across Europe. Eurostat estimates that roughly 13.1 million people were unemployed in the EU in May this year.

Despite the European Commission introducing several policies to address employment and social challenges in the EU, millions of jobs remain vacant. As of the second quarter of 2025, there are over 1 million vacant jobs in Germany and half a million in France.

So, where are job vacancy rates highest and lowest in Europe? How many job vacancies are there across European countries? And which countries need workers the most? 

What is a job vacancy?

A job vacancy is a paid post that is newly created, unoccupied, or about to become vacant. According to Eurostat, it means the employer is actively looking for a suitable candidate from outside the enterprise. The employer may plan to fill the post  immediately or within a set period of time.

In calculating the job vacancy rate (JVR), both the number of job vacancies and the number of occupied posts are taken into account to show the total demand and vacancies. It basically measures the proportion of total posts that are vacant. 

For example, a 3% rate means that if there are 100 jobs in total, 97 are occupied and 3 are vacant.

In the second quarter of 2025, 2.1% of jobs in the EU are vacant. This is down from 2.2% in Q1 2025 and from 2.4% in Q2 2024.

JVR ranges from 0.6% in Romania to 4.2% in the Netherlands. This wide gap reflects the different labour market conditions across Europe.

JVR is also 3% or higher in Belgium (4.1%), Austria and Norway (both 3.4%), and Malta (3%). This shows that Northwest Europe has the highest demand for workers. Eastern and Southern Europe show weaker demand.

For some countries, second quarter data is not yet available, so first quarter figures are used for comparison. This may slightly affect the rankings.

Vacancy rate above EU average in Germany and France

After Romania, job vacancy rates are lowest in Spain and Poland (0.8%), Bulgaria (0.9%), and Turkey and Slovakia (1.1%).

JVR is above the EU average (2.1%) in Europe’s two largest economies. It stands at 2.5% in both Germany and France. In Italy, the rate is 1.7%.

Actual job vacancy numbers may also provide deeper insight. 

Vacancy rankings: Germany, UK, France, Netherlands

Among 30 countries, including EU members, candidates, the UK, and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states, Germany has the highest number of vacancies at 1.05 million. 

At the same time, Germany is the most popular destination for migration in Europe. Germany had the largest absolute number of immigrants in 2023, according to Eurostat. It received 324,000 from EU countries, 905,000 from non-EU countries, and 42,000 from unknown origins—a total of 1,271,000.

Spain, however, shows a different picture. It ranks 8th in job vacancies with 145,000, yet follows closely behind Germany in total immigration with 1.25 million. This indicates that each country needs to be examined separately, taking into account factors such as the size of its economy and growth trends.

The UK (Office for National Statistics estimate) is second with 781,000, followed by France with 504,000. The Netherlands ranks fourth with 400,000 vacancies.

Turkey has 206,000 job vacancies. It also recorded the highest rate of young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET) in 2024.

Other countries with over 100,000 job vacancies include Belgium (170,000), Austria (148,000), Spain (145,000), Sweden (113,000), Norway (107,000), and Poland (101,000). 

Iceland (5,000) has the lowest number of job vacancies, followed by Luxembourg (7,000), Malta (8,000) and North Macedonia (10,000).

Unmet labour demand and skills gap

What does JVR tell us? Eurostat explains this: “The job vacancy rate reflects the unmet demand for labour, as well as potential mismatches between the skills and availability of those who are unemployed and those sought by employers.”

Skill shortages are becoming a major challenge for employers across Europe according to surveys.  For example, a 2023 survey by ManpowerGroup, found that 75% of employers in 21 European countries could not find workers with the right skills. This is up from 42% in 2018—a rise of 33 percentage points. In this survey, Germany and Greece recorded the highest rate at 82%.

Similarly, in late 2023, a Eurobarometer survey found that 54% of EU Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) ranked skill shortages among their top three problems.

Most job postings by occupation and highest paying salaries

While Eurostat data shows job vacancies by sector, it does not provide a detailed breakdown by occupation. For insights into which sectors have the most job postings in Europe, a Euronews Business article offers a clear picture based on recent data from the global hiring platform Indeed.

If you are curious about which careers offer the highest salaries, this piece comprehensively presents the latest salary and occupation trends in Europe, including the UK, Germany, and France.