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Published: 18 February 2015

More open job vacancies in the last quarter of 2014 than one year earlier

According to the Job Vacancy Survey of Statistics Finland, there were 19,800 open job vacancies in the last quarter of 2014, which is 19 per cent more than one year earlier (16,600). The reference period of the data for the last quarter was 1 December. In the whole of 2014, there were 28,500 open job vacancies, on average, which is slightly fewer than in the previous year (29,500).

Job vacancies 2013/IV – 2014/IV

	Year/Quarter
	2013/IV		2014/IV
	Number	Share, %	Number	Share, %
Job vacancies	16 600		19 800
Part-time	1 500	9	4 300	22
Fixed term	5 100	31	6 700	34
Hard-to-fill vacancies	7 000	42	8 300	42
The sub-groups are not mutually exclusive so their sum does not correspond with the total number of open job vacancies.

In the last quarter of 2014, in all, 14,900 or 75 per cent of the job vacancies were in private enterprises, while one year earlier the share was 65 per cent. The share of local and central government establishments as offerers of open job vacancies decreased, however. Examined by the industry of the establishment, the number of open job vacancies decreased from the year before in the industry group of manufacturing, mining and other manufacturing activities (-1,000), and increased in most of the other industry groups.

In the last quarter of the year, 22 per cent of all open job vacancies were part-time positions, while one year earlier the share of part-time positions was nine per cent. The share of fixed-term positions in all open job vacancies was 34 per cent, which is three percentage points more than in the same quarter one year ago. Employers estimated that 42 per cent of all open job vacancies were hard-to-fill, just like in the corresponding period last year.

The number of open job vacancies can also be viewed on annual level as averages of the quarterly figures. Of the open job vacancies in 2014, on average, 71 per cent were offered by private enterprises, which was nearly the same as in 2013. By contrast, the share of open job vacancies offered by local government establishments of all open vacancies, 12 per cent, was five percentage points lower than in the previous year. Examined by the industry of the establishment, the number of job vacancies decreased most from one year ago in establishments belonging to the industry groups of public administration, education, human health and social work activities (-1,000), and trade, transportation and storage, and accommodation and food service activities (-900).

Examined on the annual level, the difficulties experienced by employers in filling open job vacancies decreased. On average, 33 per cent of the open job vacancies in 2014 were assessed as hard-to-fill by the employers, while in 2013 the corresponding share was 41 per cent.

Job vacancies in 2013 – 2014

	Year
	2013		2014
	Number	Share, %	Number	Share, %
Job vacancies	29 500		28 500
Part-time	6 900	23	6 700	24
Fixed term	12 500	43	13 300	47
Hard-to-fill vacancies	12 200	41	9 500	33
The sub-groups are not mutually exclusive so their sum does not correspond with the total number of open job vacancies. Annual figures on job vacancies are averages of quarterly figures.

Statistics Finland has been collecting data on open job vacancies quarterly since 2002. The inquiry is directed to persons responsible for recruitment in private or public sector establishments. The data provider can respond either using the web questionnaire or through a telephone interview. The data collection includes approximately 2,500 different establishments in every quarter. The statistics are based on Regulation (EC) No 453/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The objective is to produce up-to-date and comparable information about the number and structure of job openings on the labour markets of EU Member States.

The sample design of the Job Vacancy Survey was changed starting from the statistical reference year 2013 so that the target samples and strata better correspond with the information needs of data users. The revisions made have a significant effect on the results, for which reason the data cannot be compared with the data released prior to the first quarter of 2013. More information can be found in the quality description of the statistical release in Finnish.

More information about open job vacancies is available in the appendix tables of this release and in the database tables of the Job Vacancy Survey in Finnish. The figures in the tables are rounded, for which reason the sums do not always amount to the totals. The accuracy of estimates and standard errors are explained in the quality description of the statistical release in Finnish.

Latest data on open job vacancies published by the EU can be found on Eurostat's home page http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

Source: Job vacancy survey 2014, 4th quarter. Statistics Finland.

Inquiries: Minna Wallenius 029 551 2749, tyovoimatutkimus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Riitta Harala

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Tables

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• Database tables and their variables
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Appendix tables

• Appendix table 1. Job vacancies by the quarters 2013/IV - 2014/IV (18.2.2015)
• Appendix table 2. Job vacancies by size of the local kind of activity unit 2013/IV - 2014/IV (18.2.2015)
• Appendix table 3. Job vacancies by employer sector of the local kind of activity unit 2013/IV - 2014/IV (18.2.2015)
• Appendix table 4. Job vacancies by location (major region 2012) of the local kind of activity unit 2013/IV - 2014/IV (18.2.2015)
• Appendix table 5. Job vacancies by industry (TOL 2008) of the local kind of activity unit 2013/IV - 2014/IV (18.2.2015)
• Appendix table 6. Job vacancies by employer sector of the local kind of activity unit in 2013 - 2014 (18.2.2015)
• Appendix table 7. Job vacancies by location (major region 2012) of the local kind of activity unit in 2013 - 2014 (18.2.2015)
• Appendix table 8. Job vacancies by industry (TOL 2008) of the local kind of activity unit in 2013 - 2014 (18.2.2015)

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Updated 18.2.2015