In the service sector, demand is highest for security personnel, cooks, customer service and cleaning service personnel. The manufacturing sector, meanwhile, needs unskilled labourers and specialists, sewing factory workers, carpenters, construction project managers and specialists the most.

There is also a shortfall of bus and long-distance lorry drivers, spokespeople for the EUIF said.

In the social and healthcare sectors, there are jobs on offer for of nurses, carers, activities instructors and pharmacists. The education sector is having trouble finding sufficient numbers of teachers and assistant teachers, special education teachers and speech therapists.

There are various factors contributing to why many positions cannot be filled. While increased demand in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector affects the entire sector, in construction and manufacture the reason may be insufficient or outdated skills in the workforce or the movement of the workforce abroad.

In the social sphere, situations occur where in spite of the numbers of specialists trained by the state, a staff shortfall persists because newly trained specialists don't take up jobs in the areas for which they were trained due to low wages or other conditions. Declining popularity can be noted for specialities requiring manual skills, such as metalworking and woodworking specialists.

In customer service, a candidate's insufficient language skills, desire for higher wages or fewer working hours may all prove obstacles to hiring.

The labour needs barometer is compiled by the EUIF twice per year by providing an estimate concerning fields of professional activity set to experience a shortfall of workers, a balance between demand and supply, and a surplus of workforce.