Your guide to the European job market

When you are exploring the possibility of looking for jobs outside your home country, it is better to know something about the new job markets you are considering. If you are looking for jobs in Europe, here is some information on the European job market in 2019 which will help you.

 

Variation in employment rates

The job market in 2019 predicts that there will be a variation in the employment rates among countries and regions. The reasons for this are the variation in employees’ interests, economic performance, industrial development and the rate of urbanization. All these factors contribute to the variation in employment rates.

 

 The good news is that there has been a consistent increase in the employment rate of EU nations. In 2010, the European Council adopted the EU 2020 strategy to reinforce the European economy and increase the employment rate of the population aged between 20 to 64 years by 75% in 2020. Countries of the European Union also set their individual targets for the employment rate in 2020.

 

The employment rate in the EU recorded in 2018 stood at 73.2%. This is the highest recorded rate since 2005. More than half of the EU member countries have achieved their national target.

 

Post the adoption of the EU 2020 strategy the employment rate has grown by 5% with consistent growth in the employment rate since 2015. Between 2017 and 2018 there was a 1 percentage point increase and the 2018 results indicate that the EU is just 1.8 percentage points short of reaching its 75% employment target by 2020.

 

These factors state that there are job opportunities in EU nations. They are keen to achieve their employment targets and are looking for the appropriate talent both from EU and non-EU countries.

 

Sectors with most job opportunities

Research indicates that the sectors with most job opportunities are IT, healthcare and construction. There is a demand for technical and handcraft professionals as well. The top jobs in Europe are in these sectors. According to a working paper published by Empirica, the number of new job openings available in Europe are expected to touch 670,000 in 2020 and there could be additional demand for more than 75,000 ICT professionals provided European firms are able to find the right talent.

 

 Job market factors in European nations

In the U.K, the Brexit factor has made an impact on the job market conditions. The U.K  Economic Outlook  Report  by PWC indicates that the fall in immigration from other European countries is creating a shortage of skills in key areas.

 

U.K companies are finding it difficult to find people with the right skill sets. The situation arising out of this is companies are willing to pay higher wages to recruit those with the crucial skills they need. The other impact is the lack of skills is making it difficult to innovate. This may force U.K companies to look at migrants from other countries to meet the skill shortage.

 

There is a similar kind of situation in Germany as well.  Research studies suggest that Germany is looking at talent from countries outside Europe to meet skill shortages. The country is expected to have annual immigration requirement of nearly 260,000 people to fill job positions. The German government passed the Skilled Migrants Immigration Law in December last year to facilitate skilled non-EU citizens to come and work in the country.

 

The top jobs in demand here are software engineers, programmers, electrical engineers, doctors, nurses, etc.

 

Going by the trends, the European job market offers diverse job opportunities for those who want to work in Europe. A good knowledge of the job market will help you plan an effective job strategy and land a job here. Good luck!