In the second quarter of 2023, Cyprus recorded a job vacancy rate of 2.9%. This is in comparison to 3.0% in the Eurozone and 2.7% across the European Union, according to data published by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU.

When viewed sequentially, Cyprus' rate showed a slight increase from 2.8% in the first quarter of 2023 and from 2.7% in the second quarter of 2022. Meanwhile, the Eurozone saw a minor drop from 3.1% in the previous quarter and from 3.2% a year earlier. The broader EU experienced a decrease from 2.8% in the prior quarter and from 3.0% in Q2 2022.

Breaking down Cyprus' figures, the job vacancy rate stood at 1.6% for industries and construction, whereas the services sector registered a higher 3.8%. For comparison, the Eurozone had rates of 2.6% in industry and construction and 3.3% in services during the same period. The EU posted 2.4% and 3.0% for these sectors, respectively.

In a country-by-country breakdown for Q2 2023, the Netherlands led with the highest job vacancy rate at 4.7%, closely followed by Belgium at 4.6% and Austria at 4.4%. On the lower end of the spectrum, Bulgaria and Romania both had the lowest rate at 0.8%, while Spain and Poland each registered 0.9%, and Slovakia reported 1.0%.

Year-over-year, the job vacancy rate increased in four EU member countries, remained stable in four, and declined in 19. Greece saw the most significant increase (+0.4 percentage points), followed by Cyprus (+0.2 points) and both Portugal and Italy witnessing a rise of +0.1 points. The largest declines were recorded in the Czech Republic (-1.2 points), with Denmark, Luxembourg, and Finland each dropping by 0.8 points.

Considering economic activities, both the EU and the Eurozone recorded the highest job vacancy rates in administrative and support service activities, which include temporary employment agencies, with 4.5% in the Eurozone and 4.3% in the EU. This was followed by professional, scientific, and technical activities (4.0% in the Eurozone, 3.7% in the EU), construction (4.0% in the Eurozone, 3.6% in the EU), accommodation and food service activities (3.9% in the Eurozone, 3.7% in the EU), and the information and communication sector (3.4% in the Eurozone, 3.1% in the EU).