The number of job vacancies in Germany increased in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to the previous year, according to data from the Institute for Labour Market and Professional Research of the Federal Employment Agency (BA).

In the fourth quarter of 2016 there were 1,044,000 vacancies nationwide, 6,000 more than the same period last year.

The majority of vacancies were in West Germany, which reached more than 801,000 while in East Germany they were just over 242,000.