The same index for the euro area was 1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2015, up from 1.5% in the previous quarter and the fourth quarter of 2014.

The job vacancy rate in the EU28 was 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2015, up from 1.6% in the previous quarter and the fourth quarter of 2014.

In the euro area and the EU28, the job vacancy rate in the fourth quarter of 2015 was 1.2% in industry and construction, and 2.0% in services.

Among the Member States for which comparable data are available, the highest job vacancy rates in the fourth quarter of 2015 were recorded in Germany and the United Kingdom (both 2.6%), the Czech Republic (2.4%) and Belgium (2.2%), and the lowest in Poland (0.5%), Spain and Portugal (both 0.6%).

Among the Member States for which data for the fourth quarter of 2015 are published, the job vacancy rate rose in twenty one, remained stable in four and fell in two compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.

The largest increases were registered in the Czech Republic (+0.8 percentage points) and Latvia (+0.7 pp). The only decreases were recorded in Malta (-0.4 pp) and Estonia (-0.1 pp).

Source: Famagusta Gazette