The largest decreases in the job vacancy rate in the EU28 in the second quarter of 2019 were recorded in Croatia and Slovenia, both -0.3 pp, which signals a decline in unmet labour demand, shows a report by the EU's statistical office Eurostat.

In the EU28 and the euro area the job vacancy rate was 2.3% in the second quarter of 2019, stable compared with the previous quarter and up from 2.1% in the second quarter of 2018 (2.2%). In Q2 2018 the job vacancy rate in the euro area was 2.1%.

A much higher job vacancy rate in both the EU28 and the euro area in the April-June period was reported in the services sector, of 2.6%. In the EU’s industrial and construction sectors unmet labour demand was 2.1% and in the euro area it was 2.0%.

In Croatia, the job vacancy rate in Q2 2019 was 1.6%, following a revised rate of 2% in the first quarter. In Q2 2018 the job vacancy rate in Croatia was 1.9%.

Unmet labour demand in the Croatian economy in Q2 on the whole was at the same level as in the services sector. In Q1 this year the services sector recorded a markedly higher unmet demand, of 2.4%.

In the industrial and construction sectors the job vacancy rate in Q2 was 1.4%, 0.2 percentage points down from the first three months of this year.

Unmet labour demand highest in the Czech Republic

Among the member states for which comparable data are available, the highest job vacancy rates in the second quarter of 2019 were recorded in Czechia (6.2%), Belgium and the Netherlands (both 3.4%), says Eurostat.

In contrast, the lowest rates were observed in Greece (0.7%), Bulgaria and Spain (both 0.9%).

Compared to Q2 2018, the largest drop in the job vacancy rate in Q2 this year was reported in Croatia ad Slovenia, both -0.3 pp.

Year-on-year, the job vacancy rate grew the most in Czechia, by 0.8 pp, and in Latvia, by 0.5 pp.