Close behind Hungary came Turkey (-1.32%), Slovenia (-0.93%), Slovakia (-0.98%), and Serbia (-1.14%), reflecting a repeating pattern across parts of Central and Southeastern Europe.

BestBrokers says demographic aging, outward migration and weaker economic momentum have likely contributed to these contractions, placing growing pressure on countries already grappling with shrinking labor pools.

The analysis examined employment and recruitment trends in job markets across Europe to identify where jobs are being created or lost, which countries are facing the strongest demand for workers, and which occupations are currently most sought after. The research combined the latest employment statistics from Eurostat with vacancy data from the European Employment Services (EURES) network.

To assess labor demand, BestBrokers says it examined all job vacancies advertised through EURES between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, ranking countries by the total number of available positions, identifying the most in-demand occupation in each country, and determining which professional groups accounted for the highest number of vacancies across Europe.

The research authors say these indicators together provide a comprehensive view of a labor market in transition, showing not only where employment is expanding or contracting, but also where employers are searching for talent and which skills are becoming increasingly valuable across the continent.

Remarkably Active
The BestBrokers research team says Europe’s job markets remain remarkably active in 2026; employment rates exceed 80% in 11 countries, led by Malta (83.4%) and the Netherlands (83.3%); the EU average stands at 76.3%. At the same time, employers continue to compete aggressively for talent, advertising more than 10 million vacancies across the continent.

The headline figures mask significant disparities between countries. Malta tops Europe’s employment rankings with a rate of 83.4%, closely followed by the Netherlands (83.3%) and the Czech Republic (82.8%): four in five working-age residents in these countries are working. In total, 11 countries surpass the 80% threshold, indicating that employment remains robust across much of Northern and Central Europe.

Among the countries analyzed, Turkey recorded the lowest employment rate, with only 57.3% of working-age residents in employment, followed by North Macedonia (64.4%), Italy (68%), and Romania (68.8%).

However, employment rates alone reveal only part of Europe’s labor-market story; separate research by Eurofound reckons that 18.8% of jobs across the EU could be classified as vulnerable, a measure that combines income inadequacy, employment insecurity and lack of workplace rights, showing that the strength of Europe’s labor market depends not only on how many people are employed, but also on the quality and security of those jobs.

Europe’s traditional economic map is shifting: the south, long associated with higher unemployment and weaker labor participation, has become a surprising driver of workforce expansion. Spain accounts for the largest share of new jobs in Europe, adding 430,000 employed people, followed by Portugal (+82,000), Greece (+34,000), Croatia (+16,000) and Cyprus (+12,000). That brings the combined increase to 574,000 workers.

Steepest Decline
Other parts of the continent saw their labor forces slowly ebb away. In addition to having the lowest employment rates, Turkey experienced the steepest workforce decline, losing 392,000 employed people between Q1 2025 and Q1 2026, a contraction larger than the combined losses of Germany (-32,000), Italy (-24,000) and Slovakia (-25,000).

While high vacancy numbers are often seen as a sign of economic strength, they increasingly reflect a widening gap between employer demand and the availability of skilled labor.

In June 2026, the European Union launched the EU Talent Pool, a bloc-wide platform designed to connect employers with non-EU jobseekers, reflecting concerns that demographic aging and skills shortages are becoming long-term constraints on economic growth rather than temporary labor-market imbalances.

Perhaps the most striking pattern is that some of Europe’s traditionally most labor-hungry economies are no longer expanding their workforce. The Netherlands and Germany recorded employment declines compared to last year, yet together advertised more than 5.2 million positions.

In both countries, demographic aging and persistent skills shortages have left employers competing for an increasingly scarce pool of workers.

Мany European economies are creating vacancies faster than their workforces are expanding. These figures suggest that the challenge facing many European labor markets is not a shortage of jobs, but a shortage of available workers with the right skills.

Perhaps surprisingly given the dominance of discussions about the effects of AI on labor markets, states across Europe are searching less for the jobs of the future than for the workers needed to keep the present running.

Laborers in Demand
Technical laborers top the continent’s vacancy ranking with 731,953 job openings, followed by office associate professionals (630,033), metal and machinery workers (596,701), machine and plant operators (522,808) and drivers and vehicle operators (519,386). Together, these occupations account for nearly three million vacancies, highlighting a persistent shortage of workers across manufacturing, logistics, construction, and industrial production.

The findings challenge the perception that Europe’s labor shortages are primarily concentrated in highly specialized digital roles. While Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals remain among the most sought-after occupations with 375,070 vacancies, demand for technical laborers is nearly twice as high. The contrast suggests that Europe’s workforce challenge extends far beyond the digital economy, encompassing the skilled trades, industrial workers and logistics personnel that underpin supply chains, infrastructure and everyday economic activity.

Despite the attention surrounding artificial intelligence and digitalization, Europe’s largest labor shortages remain rooted in both the old and new economies. In Germany, France, Austria, the Czech Republic and Romania, technical laborers are the most sought-after positions. In Finland, ICT professionals are most in need.

The divide reflects two parallel challenges: maintaining the skilled workforce needed for Europe’s industrial base while simultaneously building the digital talent pool required for its technological ambitions. Those ambitions are increasingly under pressure, with recent Eurofound research warning that the EU is likely to miss its Digital Decade target for ICT employment.

While Sweden, Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein record the highest demand for care and health professionals, personal service workers are the most sought-after occupation in Spain, Portugal, Malta, Denmark, Slovakia, Hungary and Iceland, reflecting the continued importance of tourism, hospitality and consumer-facing industries to many European economies. The full research is available at the BestBrokers website.