INS: Number of vacant jobs drops by 8,000 in the last quarter of 2019

The number of job vacancies was 47,000 in the fourth quarter of 2019, down almost 8,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter, according to a press release of the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

The vacancy rate (the ratio between the number of vacancies and the total number of jobs) was 0.95 per cent, down 0.16 percentage points compared to the previous quarter. Compared to the same quarter of 2018, the vacancy rate fell by 0.25 percentage points, and the number of vacancies decreased by 11,700.

In the last quarter of 2019, relatively high rates of vacant jobs were registered in entertainment, cultural and recreational activities (1.73 per cent), health and social assistance (1.69 per cent), in public administration (1. 68 per cent), respectively. The highest rate of job vacancies was found in other service activities (2.39 per cent).

In the manufacturing industry, 23.4 per cent of the total number of vacancies (11,000 vacancies) was concentrated, having a rate of 0.95 per cent.

The budgetary sector accounted for just over 24 per cent of the total number of vacancies.

Thus, 5,800 vacancies were found in health and social work activities, 4,600 vacancies in public administration, 900 vacancies in education, respectively.

The vacancy rate registered the lowest value in education (0.27 per cent), and the total number of vacancies in real estate (100 vacancies).

Compared to the previous quarter, the most significant drop in the vacancy rate was observed in the public administration (-0.54 percentage points), and in terms of the number of vacancies, it experienced the most relevant decrease in the manufacturing industry (-2,600 vacancies).

At the opposite end, the most significant increases in both the rate and the number of job vacancies were found in hotels and restaurants (+0.27 percentage points, +600 vacancies, respectively), followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing (+0.21 percentage points, +200 vacancies, respectively).