More job vacancies

The number of job vacancies has increased further. At the end of March, there were 135 thousand job vacancies, i.e. 7 thousand more than at the end of December. The private sector accounted entirely for the increase, with a growth of about 8 thousand open vacancies relative to the preceding quarter. The number of job vacancies in the public sector remained stable over the same period. The figures are adjusted for seasonal effects.

The vacancy rate, i.e. the number of vacancies per one thousand jobs is an indicator of the tightness of the labour market. The vacancy rate for the first quarter stood at 17 and has been at this level for nearly two years.

The labour market was more dynamic than in 2010. In the first quarter of this year, 197 thousand new vacancies were created, 23 thousand more than in the first quarter of 2010. The number of filled vacancies also rose; 186 thousand job vacancies were filled, compared with 176 thousand in the same period of 2010.

Job vacancies, seasonally adjusted