Statistics: Job vacancies down 1.4 percent in fourth quarter of 2024
In the fourth quarter of 2024, a total of 9,071 job vacancies were registered in Estonia's enterprises, institutions and organizations — 1.4 percent fewer than in the final quarter of 2023, Statistics Estonia said on Monday.
The total number of vacant and occupied posts in the fourth quarter was just under 599,000, according to a press release.
"The number of vacant posts was the highest in public administration and defense and compulsory social security at 1,277," said Statistics Estonia analyst Sigrid Saagpakk. "The number of occupied posts was the greatest in manufacturing at 98,898.
In addition to public administration, other activities with a higher number of job vacancies were information and communication (1,205), trade (1,187) and education (1,120). In all, vacant posts accounted for 1.5 percent of the total number of posts.
In the fourth quarter of last year, 34,259 people were hired. "Compared with the same quarter of 2023, the number of new hires was down by more than 2,100," Saagpakk highlighted.
That same quarter, a total of 6,705 people left their job at the initiative of their employer — 451 fewer than in the fourth quarter of 2023 — representing approximately 16 percent of all those who left their job.
"Looking at the overall number of people leaving their job in the fourth quarter, this figure was the biggest in wholesale and retail trade, where 6,550 people left their job," the analyst added.
The highest number of new hires, meanwhile, were likewise recorded in wholesale and retail trade, along with manufacturing and administrative and support service activities.
Labor flows are characterized by labor turnover, i.e. the total number of engaged employees and employees who left, which in the fourth quarter of 2024 was down nearly 6 percent on year.
In the final quarter of last year, the majority of job vacancies in Estonia were registered in Harju County — accounting for 75.7 percent of all vacant posts — followed by Tartu County — with 11.6 percent of vacant posts.
During the same period, the largest share of occupied posts were also in Harju and Tartu counties — with 55.9 and 11.2 percent of all occupied posts, respectively — followed by Pärnu County with 4.6 and Ida-Viru County with 2.8 percent of posts.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
