Compared with the first quarter, second quarter job vacancies in the EU remained unchanged, at 2.3%.
In the euro area, the job vacancy rate in the second quarter of 2019 was 2% 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 member states, the highest job vacancy rates in the second quarter of 2019 were recorded in Czech Republic (6.2%),Belgium and the Netherlands (both 3.4%). In contrast, the lowest rates were observed in Greece (0.7%),Bulgaria and Spain (both 0.9%). Romania ranked sixth, with 1.1%, compared with a job vacancy rate of 1.3% in the second quarter of 2018.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the job vacancy rate in the second quarter of 2019 rose in ten member states, remained stable in nine and fell in nine others.
The largest increases were registered in Czech Republic (+0.8 pp), Latvia (+0.5 pp), Germany and Malta (both +0.4 pp). The largest decreases were registered in Croatia and Slovenia (both -0.3 pp).
The number of employees in the Romanian economy reached 4.98 million in May 2019, the highest level in two decades but the pace of new hiring slowed in the first part of the year. Employee numbers grew by 49,100 people in May compared with the beginning of the year, according to data from the Romanian statistics board.