Estonia records nearly 2,000 fewer job vacancies year-on-year

Estonia had 8,363 job vacancies in the second quarter of 2026, nearly 2,000 fewer than a year earlier, Statistics Estonia data reported by ERR showed.

The total number of vacant and occupied positions was 590,408, down 0.9 percent from the same period last year. Vacancies accounted for 1.4 percent of all positions, compared with 1.7 percent a year earlier.

The largest number of vacancies was recorded in education, with 1,558 positions, followed by public administration and defence, including compulsory social security, with 1,274. Wholesale and retail trade, including the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, had 1,029 vacancies, while manufacturing had 968.

“Looking at the overall labour market, employment did not grow in the second quarter,” said Krista Vaikmets, a lead analyst at Statistics Estonia. “The labour force survey data published in August showed that although the unemployment rate fell, this did not bring comparable employment growth. We are seeing the same trend in vacancy statistics.”

A vacancy is a newly created position, an unfilled position or one that becomes available when an employee leaves, for which an employer is actively seeking a new worker and plans to fill immediately or within a specified period. The number of vacancies therefore directly reflects employers’ demand for additional labour.

“The current data point more to a situation in which companies are cautiously adapting to an improving economic situation,” Vaikmets said. “As a result, the number of vacancies may remain modest even if some labour-market indicators, such as the unemployment rate and wages, are moving in a positive direction.”

Vacancies increased the most in administrative and support activities, arts, entertainment and recreation, and accommodation and food services. They declined from a year earlier in professional, scientific and technical activities and in the energy sector.

There were 582,045 occupied positions in the second quarter, 3,371 fewer than a year earlier but 431 more than in the first quarter of this year. Manufacturing had the most occupied positions, at 98,025, followed by trade with 81,968 and education with 62,827. Compared with the second quarter of 2025, the largest decline was in trade, where the number of occupied positions fell by nearly 2,000.

Employers hired 51,313 people in the second quarter, more than 600 more than in the same period last year.

Harju County accounted for 80.2 percent of vacancies, most of them in Tallinn, which alone had 69 percent of all vacancies. Tartu County accounted for 6.6 percent, Pärnu County for 2.6 percent and Ida-Viru County for 2 percent.

Harju County also had the largest share of occupied positions, at 55.2 percent, followed by Tartu County at 10.5 percent. “This means Estonia’s labour market is becoming increasingly concentrated in Tallinn and Harju County, with most new job opportunities also emerging closer to the capital,” Vaikmets said.