The number of job vacancies in Germany for the first quarter ending March 2017, stood at 1.064 million, an increase of 75,000 compared to the previous year and an all-time high, according to data from the Institute for Labor Market and Professional Research, part of Federal Employment Agency.

When compared to the previous quarter, the institute recorded an increase of 9,000 job vacancies in April.

According to the institute data, most of the job vacancies were in West Germany with 824,000. In East Germany, there were 240,000 open positions. The sector with the most vacancies was in the business services sector while the mining, energy, water and waste sectors had the least vacancies.

The data also showed most vacancies (64%) required vocational training, while 16% required a degree and 20% did not require any training. Furthermore, small and medium companies are especially searching for skilled workers with vocational training.