Euro area, EU job vacancy rate seen stable in Q2

Mubasher: The job vacancy rate in the euro area (EA19) was stable 2.1% in the second quarter of 2018 from the previous quarter. Year-on-year, the rate increased from 1.9%.

As for the European Union (EU), the rate was stable at 2.2% in Q2-18 from the prior three months, while compared to Q2-17, the rate had increased from 2.0%, data released by the Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office showed on Monday.

In terms of sectors, the industry and construction sector each registered a vacancy rate of 1.9% in the euro area, while the services sector had a rate of 2.4%.

In the EU, the rate was 2.1% for industry and construction, while services registered 2.5%, the Eurostat said.

The Czech Republic logged the highest job vacancy rate in Q2-18 at 5.4%, followed by Belgium with 3.5%, while the Netherlands and Germany had rates of 3.1% and 2.9%, respectively.

, “the job vacancy rate in Q2-18 rose in 20 Member States, remained stable in Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal and Romania, but fell in Estonia (-0.3%),” the report showed.

The Czech Republic also took the top spot in terms of year-on-year increases, adding 1.8%, followed by Latvia with 0.8%, Cyprus with 0.6%, while Hungary, the Netherlands, and Finland added 0.5% each.

By 9:27 am GMT, EUR/USD was up 0.22% to $1.1650.