The job vacancy rate in the EU28 was 1.8% in the second quarter of 2016, stable compared with the previous quarter, but up from 1.7% in the second quarter of 2015.

In the euro area, the job vacancy rate in the second quarter of 2016 was 1.3% in industry and construction, and 1.9% in services. In the EU28, the rate was 1.4% 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 second quarter of 2016 were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.9%), Belgium (2.8%), the United Kingdom (2.5%), Germany (2.4%) and Sweden (2.3%), and the lowest in Portugal (0.7%), Greece (0.8% in the first quarter of 2016), Spain and Poland (both 0.8%), Bulgaria and Ireland (both 0.9%).

Compared with a year ago, the job vacancy rate in the second quarter of 2016 rose in twenty Member States, remained stable in six and fell in Greece (-0.1 percentage points between the first quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016) and Malta (-0.1 pp). The largest increases were registered in Latvia (+1.1 pp) and the Czech Republic (+0.6 pp).

Source: Famagusta Gazette