Immigration Central | EURES: 3.9 million jobs available in Europe for immigrants

Representational image. (Photo: Clem Onojeghuo via Unsplash)

With Europe reeling under severe shortage of workforce, this is the time to look for a job in Europe.

Plenty of livelihood opportunities are available there right now. Germany tops the list with 951,774 vacancies followed by France with 757,571 and Belgium with 655,131 vacancies, according to EURES, a European cooperation network of employment services that covers all European Union (EU) countries as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

According to the European Labour Authority (ELA) report The EURES Report on Labour Shortages and Surpluses 2022 (released in March 2023), almost 400 different occupations were classified by at least one country as a shortage and 38 specific occupations classified in the report as widespread shortages. The 38 shortage occupations were dominated by three groups of occupations; craft occupations; healthcare occupations, and occupations related to software.

Overall, the most widespread shortages occupations are in software, healthcare, construction and engineering crafts, whereas the greatest surpluses occur in clerical related occupations, elementary and professional occupations in the humanities and in the arts.

The highest number of shortage occupations was submitted by Switzerland (240), Italy (205), the Netherlands (166), Belgium (164), Norway (128), Slovenia (107), Denmark (106), Estonia (97), France (77) and Finland (60). The 10 countries that submitted the smallest number of shortages were Greece (6), Czechia (12), Malta (16), Bulgaria (16), Luxemburg (20), Cyprus (21), Spain (23), Ireland (24), Germany, (30), and Sweden (31).

What is EURES?

EURES is a European cooperation network of employment services and covers all European Union (EU) countries as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The network is coordinated at European level, by the European Coordination Office (ECO), established within the European Labour Authority and manages the EURES portal. Each country member of the network has appointed a National Coordination Office (NCO) for EURES, responsible for coordinating the national network of Members and Partners.

Quick look at job vacancies in Europe on EURES portal

1.       Germany: 951,774

Occupations in high demand: Doctors, nurses, engineers, life scientists and computer scientists, childcare workers, chefs (butchers & bakers) and drivers in freight companies

2.     France: 757,571

Occupations in high demand: Design executives and engineers, IT research and development, and project managers in the IT sector, personal care workers, cleaners, security and surveillance officers and seasonal staff

3.      Belgium: 655,131

Occupations in high demand: Services, finance and banking, medicine, industry & production, construction, hospitality, retails, transport & logistics

4.      Croatia: 203,289

Occupations in high demand: Construction worker, greenhouse helper, delivery driver, painter, salespeople, waiters, cooks, storekeepers, and bookkeepers

5.      Czechia: 103,252

Occupations in high demand: IT, manufacturing, transport and logistics, sales and marketing, administrative support, front office and HR.

6.      Austria: 93,370

Occupations in high demand: Power engineers, engineers for agricultural machinery, nurses, electrical installers, roofers, metal turners, chefs, plumbers

7.      Sweden: 82,530

Occupations in high demand: IT/tech, engineers (mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical), nurses, salespeople, healthcare assistants, nanny, middle school teachers

8.     Spain: 66,810

Occupations in high demand: Sales, engineering, customer service, marketing, tourism, finance, legal, healthcare, information technology, and data processing

9.      The Netherlands: 60,611

Occupations in high demand: Agricultural workers, healthcare workers, teachers, cleaners, construction workers, sales/retail people, construction workers,

10.  Finland: 28,470

Occupations in high demand: Engineers, accountants, HR professionals, STEM, healthcare workers, teachers and nurses

(And if you are up for some icy work adventure, 49 jobs are available in Iceland!)

Jobs available by Occupation:

·         Shop sales assistants (1,12,165)

·         Nursing professionals (76,650)

·         Freight handlers (74,359)

·         Cleaners and helpers in offices, hotels and other establishments (58,560)

·         Agricultural and industrial machinery mechanics and repairers (57,691)

·         Manufacturing labourers not elsewhere classified (57,618)

·         Heavy truck and lorry drivers (54,580)

·         Building and related electricians (51,942)

·         Waiters (50,380)

·         Accountants (50,192)

·         Cooks (50,039)

·         Social work associate professionals (45,659)

·         Secretaries (general) (43,039)

·         Metal working machine tool setters and operators (41,894)

·         Health care assistants (40,055)

·         Motor vehicle mechanics and repairers (39,911)

·         General office clerks (39,272)

·         Accounting associate professionals (38,751)

Jobs available by sector:

·         Accommodation and food service activities (130,873)

·         Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies (752)

·         Administrative and support services activities (912,948)

·         Agriculture, forestry and fishing (16,694)

·         Arts, entertainment and recreation (18,373)

·         Construction (146,775)

·         Education (96,263)

·         Electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply (7184)

·         Financial and insurance activities (35,527)

·         Human health and social work activities (231,537)

·         Information and Communication (77,913)

·         Manufacturing (234,319)

·         Mining and quarrying (1858)

·         Professional, scientific and technical activities (196,932)

·         Public administration and defence; compulsory social security (46,141)

·         Real estate activities (17,625)

·         Transportation and storage (67,663)

·         Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (11,886)

·         Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (217,154)

How to register for EU & EURES login?

·         Create your EU login account with a two-factor authentication before registering on EURES as job seeker or employer

·         Register on EURES if you already have a EU login