According to Statistics Estonia, in the fourth quarter of 2021, there were 11,103 job vacancies in the enterprises, institutions and organisations of Estonia – this is 28% more than in the same quarter of 2020.
Last year, the total number of vacant and occupied posts was nearly 615,000. The biggest share of these posts was in manufacturing, trade and education. Vacant posts accounted for 1.8% of the total number of posts, with the number of job vacancies being the highest in wholesale and retail trade (1,669), manufacturing (1,638) and education (1,365), Statistics Estonia, the country’s official statistics agency, said.
Argo Tarkiainen, an analyst at the agency, said 35% of all job vacancies were in the public sector.
“The rate of job vacancies was the highest in information and communication and in financial and insurance activities, and the lowest in agriculture and in mining and quarrying,” he noted.
Most of the vacant posts were in Harju County (81%), including Tallinn (70%), followed by Tartu County (5.7%) and Pärnu County (3.8%). The rate of job vacancies was the highest in Harju and Lääne counties and the lowest in Põlva and Hiiu counties.
In the fourth quarter, 40,540 people were hired and 49,469 left work.
“The number of new hires and the number of employees who left their job were both the highest in wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing and construction. 7,396 employees left their job on the employer’s initiative, which represented 15% of all the employees who left work,” Tarkiainen said.
