Businesses face fierce competition to hire specialists

Businesses in Estonia are facing intense competition to recruit specialists, ERR reported, as the unemployment rate fell slightly in the second quarter but overall employment did not improve significantly.

Statistics Estonia said the unemployment rate was 6.6 percent, slightly lower than a year earlier. The employment rate was 68.6 percent, also marginally below last year’s level.

SEB economic analyst Mihkel Nestor said the figures were expected as the economy grows gradually. He said the unemployment rate could remain at around 6 percent for an extended period because economic growth was too slow to create an urgent need for new workers.

Southern Estonia and Harju County were the only regions where employment increased. Paulig is moving an entire production unit from Sweden to Saue, creating nearly 100 jobs. Margo Kuslap, the plant’s manager, said the company had received enough applications.

“Our experience in Saue so far shows that people are willing to work outside Saue if the job is accessible, stable and offers opportunities for development,” Kuslap said.

However, he said recruiting specialists was more difficult because many companies were competing for people with the same specialised skills.

Martti Kork, chief executive of Barrus, a wood-processing company in Võru, said limited investment had put the sector in a difficult position and that the company had also been forced to make redundancies this year. He said most local wood-processing companies were facing a similar situation.

“It is regrettable that all these companies are based in rural areas, meaning that jobs in rural regions are under pressure as well,” Kork said.

Barrus has created new opportunities in the region by shifting to computer-based work. Kork said data specialists were now easier to recruit than machine operators. The company’s latest recruitment campaign for a senior data architect attracted 80 CVs in Võru, which he called surprising.

Unemployment among people aged 15 to 24 stood at 22.4 percent in the second quarter. Although still high, it was significantly lower than a year earlier. Nestor said the figure reflected greater prosperity in society, allowing families to support young people for longer.