Statistics: Nearly 10,000 job vacancies in Estonia in first quarter
In the first quarter of 2024, there were 9,598 job vacancies in Estonia's enterprises, institutions and organizations – down 16.3 percent on year – while just under 6,500 people left their job at their employer's initiative, Statistics Estonia said Thursday.
Statistics Estonia social statistics analyst Liina Kuusik said that the total number of vacant and occupied posts in the first quarter was slightly over 609,000, and most of these were in manufacturing, trade and education, according to a press release.
"Vacant posts accounted for 1.58 percent of the total number of posts," she explained. "The number of job vacancies was highest in human health and social work activities, public administration and defense, and education."
40 percent of all first-quarter job vacancies were in the public sector.
"The rate of job vacancies was highest in public administration and defense, human health and social work activities, and transportation and storage," Kuusik continued. "The lowest rates were found in other service activities and in agriculture, forestry and fishing."
Around three quarters of vacant posts were located in Harju County (74.2 percent), including the city of Tallinn (65.8 percent), followed by Tartu County (7.3 percent) and Järva County (3.3 percent). The rate of job vacancies was highest in Järva and Viljandi counties and lowest in Hiiu and Põlva counties.
The analyst noted that 38,433 people were hired and 39,753 people left their jobs in the first quarter of 2024. Labor flows are characterized by labor turnover, i.e. the total number of engaged employees and employees who left, which fell 8 percent on year.
"The number of new hires was highest in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, motor vehicle and motorcycle repair, and administrative and support service activities," Kuusik said. "The biggest numbers of employees who left their job were recorded in wholesale and retail trade, motor vehicle and motorcycle repair, manufacturing, and construction."
6,485 employees left their job at their employer's initiative, accounting for 16 percent of all those who left work, she added.
To estimate the number of occupied posts and labour turnover, Statistics Estonia uses the data of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (MTA) employment register.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
