OREANDA-NEWS. The job vacancy rate in the euro area (EA19) was 1.7% in the first quarter of 2016, up from 1.6% in both the previous quarter and the first quarter of 2015, according to figures published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The job vacancy rate in the EU28 was 1.8% in the first quarter of 2016, up from 1.7% in both the previous quarter and the first quarter of 2015.

In the euro area, the job vacancy rate in the first quarter of 2016 was 1.4% in industry and construction, and 2.0% in services. In the EU28, the rate was 1.4% in industry and construction, and 2.1% in services.

Member States

Among the Member States for which comparable data are available, the highest job vacancy rates in the first quarter of 2016 were recorded in Belgium (2.6%), the Czech Republic, Germany and Sweden (all 2.5%), and the lowest in Greece (0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2015), Spain and Portugal (both 0.7%) and Poland (0.8%).

Compared with a year ago, the job vacancy rate in the first quarter of 2016 rose in twenty two Member States, remained stable in three and fell in three. The largest increases were registered in Malta (+1.2 percentage points), Latvia (+1.0 pp) and the Czech Republic (+0.8 pp). The only decreases were recorded in Greece (-0.6 pp between the fourth quarter of 2014 and the fourth quarter of 2015), Ireland and Cyprus (both -0.1 pp).