The number of job vacancies was the highest in education and trade

The total number of vacant and occupied posts in the fourth quarter was a little under 584,000. Vacancies represented 1.5% of all job posts. The number of vacant posts was the highest in education (1,435) and wholesale and retail trade (including repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles) (1,431).

Krista Vaikmets, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the number of job vacancies declined by nearly 500 in the fourth quarter year on year. However, the rate of job vacancies – i.e. the share of vacancies in the total number of posts – remained at a similar level as in the fourth quarter of 2024. The number of occupied posts was the greatest in manufacturing (97,668), followed by wholesale and retail trade (incl. repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles) (81,725) and education (63,279). 

Number of new hires up by more than 1,500 year on year

35,833 people were hired in the fourth quarter of 2025. “Compared with the fourth quarter of 2024, the number of new hires was up by over 1,500,” said Vaikmets. The number of people leaving their job decreased slightly year on year. The highest numbers of new hires were recorded in wholesale and retail trade and manufacturing. “These changes are not unusual. Turnover rates are often higher in the larger economic activities. As for trade, the changes can mostly be associated with the holiday season. The indicator for manufacturing is within the customary range,” explained Vaikmets.

“Compared with the fourth quarter of 2024, there was an increase in the total number of people hired and people who left their jobs in the last quarter of 2025. This suggests slightly more activity on the labour market, but labour turnover still remained smaller than in the same quarter in five previous years,” said Vaikmets to describe labour flow trends. 

“The fourth quarter is usually not affected by seasonal fluctuations, such as the summer period, but there are some activities – for example, wholesale and retail trade and manufacturing – where there may be increased labour flow in the fourth quarter in particular,” she explained. “This reflects enterprises’ need to adjust staff numbers and output capacity according to demand, for example, during the holiday season,” said Vaikmets about the fourth quarter trends. 

About three quarters of vacancies were in Harju county

The number of people leaving their job on the initiative of the employer was 6,074 – down by 631 from the fourth quarter of 2024. These people represented about 14% of all those who left their job. “Wholesale and retail trade had the biggest number of employees leaving – 6,553,” said Vaikmets, adding that the biggest share of employees leave voluntarily, i.e. on their own initiative.

The number of persons who left their job was also high in manufacturing (6,126). This number tends to be smaller in activities that have a smaller number of employees, such as mining and quarrying or electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply.

In the last quarter of 2025, about three quarters, or 75.4%, of all job vacancies were in Harju county. It was followed by Tartu (8.3%), Pärnu (3.8%) and Ida-Viru (2.4%) counties. “The Estonian labour market is heavily centred in Harju county, with the majority of new posts created in and around the capital,” said Vaikmets. “Tartu county is another major centre. In the rest of the counties, the share of job vacancies is significantly smaller, which reflects regional imbalance in the labour market,” she added.

To estimate the number of occupied posts and labour turnover, Statistics Estonia uses the data of the employment register of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Data on job vacancies, however, are collected by Statistics Estonia using a questionnaire.

Job vacancy – a paid post that is newly created, unoccupied or about to become vacant, for which the employer is taking active steps and is prepared to take further steps to find a suitable candidate from outside the enterprise/institution/organisation concerned, and which the employer intends to fill either immediately or within a specific period of time.

Number of job vacancies – the quarterly average calculated based on three months' data (data as at the end of the month).

Rate of job vacancies – the share of job vacancies in the total number of jobs.

The quarterly average number of vacant and occupied posts is published as at the end of the month. The main representative of public interest for the statistical activity is the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, commissioned by whom Statistics Estonia collects and analyses the data necessary for conducting the statistical activity.

Data as at 10 March 2026 are published. The indicator values may change if there are any revisions made in the data sources after this date.

More detailed data have been published in the statistical database.

See also the dedicated section on wages and salaries and labour costs.

 When using Statistics Estonia’s data and graphs, please indicate the source.

For further information:

Susann Kivi
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 5696 6484
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)