According to data released by Statistics Estonia, there were 13,076 job vacancies in Estonia in the first quarter of 2022. This is 38 per cent more than in the same period in 2021.
The total number of vacant and occupied posts was 631,445. The number of job vacancies was highest in wholesale and retail trade (2,515), manufacturing (1,530), and education (1,480).
“Vacant posts accounted for 2.1 per cent of the total number of jobs in the first quarter of this year. 32 per cent of all job vacancies were in the public sector. The rate of job vacancies was the highest in information and communications and financial and insurance activities, and the lowest in real estate activities,” explained Argo Tarkiainen, an analyst at Statistics Estonia.
Most of the vacant posts were in Harju county (80 per cent), including Tallinn City (70 per cent), followed by Tartu county (6.2 per cent) and Ida-Viru county (2.7 per cent). The rate of job vacancies was the highest in Harju and Valga counties, and the lowest in Jõgeva and Hiiu counties.
In the first quarter of 2022, 50,013 persons were hired, and 44,193 persons left work. “The number of new hires and the number of employees who left their job were the highest in wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, and construction. 4,640 employees left their job on the employer’s initiative, which represented 10% of all the employees who left work,” Tarkiainen added.