Job vacancies up 17 percent on year in fourth quarter
According to information released by Statistics Estonia on Friday, the number of job vacancies in the fourth quarter of 2017 decreased 17 percent compared to the previous quarter, when the number of vacancies was at its highest in recent years, but increased 17 percent on year.
In 2017, there were approximately 11,200 job vacancies in the first quarter, approximately 12,000 job vacancies in the second quarter and approximately 12,700 job vacancies in the third quarter.
The economic activities of manufacturing (20 percent), wholesale and retail trade (15 percent) and education (10 percent) continued to have the largest shares in the total number of jobs (vacant and occupied). Manufacturing and wholesale and retail trade are the biggest employers also in terms of the highest number of job vacancies. The total number of posts in the fourth quarter numbered nearly 552,900, having increased 0.9 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2016 and decreased 1.1 percent compared to the third quarter of 2017.
The rate of job vacancies, i.e. the share of job vacancies in the total number of posts, was 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, which is 0.4 percent lower than in the previous quarter, and 0.3 percent higher than in the fourth quarter of 2016.
In the fourth quarter of last year, the rate of job vacancies was the highest in information and communication (2.9 percent), administrative and support service activities (2.8 percent) and in public administration and defense (2.7 percent).The rate of job vacancies was the lowest in mining and quarrying (0.2 percent) and in real estate activities (0.8 percent).
Three quarters (74 percent) of the vacant posts were in the private sector and every forth vacant post was in the public sector. In the fourth quarter of 2017, the rate of job vacancies was highest in state institutions and enterprises (2.7 percent) and in enterprises owned by foreign private entities (2.4 percent), and lowest in enterprises owned by Estonian private entities (1.7 percent) and in municipal institutions and enterprises (1.1 percent).
Most of the vacant posts were located in Harju County (68 percent), including 53 percent in Tallinn, followed by Tartu County (nine percent) and Ida-Viru County (five percent). The number of vacant jobs was lowest, meanwhile, in Hiiu, Jõgeva and Võru Counties.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
