The lack of workers has become one of the biggest challenges in the European labor market, with millions of vacancies to fill while more than 13 million people remain unemployed. The data reveal a paradox that affects the entire European Union (EU) and has led the European Commission to adopt new policies to try to balance demand and job offer.
According to Eurostat, in May 2025 about 13.1 million citizens were without work in the EU. Still, thousands of companies cannot hire, reflecting the scarcity of labor in various strategic sectors. The Euronews Business analysis, cited by the magazine mostly in economics and executive Digest business, shows that in the second quarter of the year, the average vacant employment rate was 2.1%, slightly less than 2.2% registered in the previous quarter and 2.4% of the same period of 2024.
Germany leads in job offers
In absolute terms, Germany remains in the lead, with more than 1.05 million posts available. The country is also the main migration destination in Europe, having received more than 1.27 million immigrants in 2023, and with about 245 thousand Portuguese.
The United Kingdom comes in second place, with 781,000 open vacancies, followed by France, with 504,000, and the Netherlands, which record about 400,000. These four countries concentrate the largest slice of job opportunities on the continent.
Striking differences between countries
Vago employment rates reveal very different realities between Member States. While Romania has only 0.6%, the Netherlands record 4.2%, one of the highest percentages in Europe. Also Belgium (4.1%), Austria and Norway (3.4%each) and Malta (3%) face high demand by workers, according to the same source.
In contrast, Spain and Poland (0.8%), Bulgaria (0.9%) and Turkey and Slovakia (1.1%) record the lowest rates, a sign that labor demand is more moderate in these countries.
Non -continent unequal offer
In addition to giants such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom, there are other countries with more than 100,000 vacancies for filling Belgium, Austria, Spain, Sweden, Norway and Poland. Already in the opposite extremes are Iceland (5 thousand), Luxembourg (7 thousand), Malta (8 thousand) and the North Macedonia (10 thousand), which present the numbers lower in absolute terms.
Portugal in intermediate position
Although not leading the rankings, Portugal does not escape this trend. The country has a vacant employment rate close to the European average, lacking workers in areas such as health, hotel, construction and information technologies. For many experts, cited by, the migratory pressure that feels in other countries may also accentuate in Portuguese territory in the coming years.
This scenario confirms that the European challenge is not just about creating jobs, but also to ensure sufficient and qualified labor to respond to the needs of each economy.
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