The job vacancy rates in the euro area (EA19) stood at 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase from 2.0% from the same period in 2017. At the same time, In the EU28, the job vacancy rate was also 2.3% and also up from 2.0% the previous year, according to the latest data from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In the euro area, the job vacancy rate in the fourth quarter of 2018 was 2.0% in industry and construction, and 2.6% in services. In the EU28, the rate was 2.1% in industry and construction, and 2.6% in services.

Among the member states for which comparable data are available, the highest job vacancy rates in the fourth quarter of 2018 were recorded in Czech Republic (6.0%), Belgium and Germany (both 3.4%) and Austria (3.1%).

The lowest rates were observed in Greece (0.4%), Bulgaria, Ireland, Spain and Portugal (all 0.9%).

Meanwhile, when compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the job vacancy rate in the fourth quarter of 2018 rose in twenty member states, remained stable in Belgium, Cyprus, Finland and Sweden, but fell in Estonia, Ireland, Croatia (all of them -0.1%) and Lithuania (-0.2%).

The largest increase was registered in the Czech Republic (1.6%).