Europe's labour shortages aren't evenly spread. Some occupations are hard to fill in almost every country, others are hard to fill only in particular regions, and some popular office and creative roles actually have more applicants than vacancies. If you are thinking of working in Europe, especially from outside the European Union, knowing which jobs are genuinely in short supply helps you focus your search, judge how realistic an offer is, and decide which qualifications to get recognised first. This guide draws on the most recent official data available on 6 October 2026: the 2025 EURES report on labour shortages and surpluses published by the European Labour Authority (ELA) in June 2026, Eurostat job vacancy statistics for the second quarter of 2026, Cedefop skills intelligence, and national labour market information published through EURES.

What a labour shortage actually means

A labour shortage exists when employers cannot find enough suitable workers for an occupation at the wages and conditions on offer. A skills shortage is narrower: there may be plenty of jobseekers, but too few have the specific qualifications, experience, or licences the job requires. The two often overlap. A country can have high unemployment and still report shortages of nurses, welders or electricians, because the unemployed people available do not have those skills or do not live where the jobs are.

The opposite is a surplus: more qualified jobseekers than vacancies, which means strong competition from local candidates.

Shortage is not a fixed label. Every list described here is a snapshot of a particular reference period, so always check its year.

The official sources and what each one measures

The EURES report on labour shortages and surpluses

The most detailed Europe-wide picture of which occupations are short is the annual EURES report, now produced by the European Labour Authority. The latest edition, Labour shortages and surpluses in Europe 2025, was published in June 2026 and launched at a conference in Bucharest on 11 June 2026. It is based mainly on assessments by the national EURES coordination offices, which looked at all 436 four-digit occupations in the international ISCO 2008 classification, supplemented by Eurostat data and consultations. Reference periods are 2024 and 2025 for the national assessments.

The report is designed to cover the EURES countries, which are the 27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. In this edition, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland did not complete the data collection questionnaire, so the occupation analysis is based on 28 countries: the EU 27 and Norway.

An important caveat: each national office chooses its own method for deciding whether an occupation is in shortage. Bulgaria, for example, classifies an occupation as in shortage when there are fewer than 20 jobseekers per vacancy, while Austria uses a much stricter ratio of 1.4 jobseekers per vacancy. Six countries (Spain, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia and Finland) changed their methods for this edition, so the report warns that direct comparisons with earlier years are not possible for them. Counts of shortage occupations per country therefore show how widely shortages are reported, not an exact ranking of labour market tightness.

Eurostat job vacancy statistics

Eurostat publishes quarterly job vacancy rates: vacancies divided by occupied posts plus vacancies. They show unmet demand by country and economic activity, not by detailed occupation.

Cedefop skills intelligence

Cedefop, the EU agency for vocational training, produces long-term skills forecasts and a Labour and Skills Shortage Index. These look forward to 2035, combining expected employment growth, the need to replace workers who retire, and mismatches between qualifications and jobs. They are useful for understanding which occupations will stay in demand, rather than which are hard to fill today.

National assessments and shortage lists

Countries also publish their own shortage analysis, and some use national lists in their immigration rules. Only the national list counts for permit purposes in that country. EU-level reports are analytical and change no permit rule.

Europe, the EU and the EEA in these figures

Shortage statistics come from different geographical groupings, and it is easy to mix them up.

• The EU has 27 Member States; the euro area is the subset using the euro. Eurostat publishes headline figures for both.
• The EEA adds Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to the EU for free movement of workers. Switzerland is outside both but takes part in EURES.
• Other European countries, such as the United Kingdom and the Western Balkans, are not covered by the EURES shortage report.

Schengen is a separate arrangement about border checks and short stays. It has nothing to do with which occupations are in shortage and does not give anyone a right to work.

The occupations most widely in shortage

The 2025 EURES report counts 2,617 reported shortage occupations across the 28 participating countries (one count for each occupation in each country) and 2,177 reported surpluses. Of the shortages, 21.3% were classed as high severity, 35.4% as medium and 23.4% as low, so 57% were medium or high.

The report identifies 24 "widespread" shortage occupations, each reported as short by at least 15 countries. These are the jobs most consistently hard to fill across Europe:

1. Specialist medical practitioners (22 countries)
2. Welders and flame cutters (22)
3. Building and related electricians (21)
4. Plumbers and pipe fitters (20)
5. Nursing professionals (20)
6. Sheet metal workers (19)
7. Generalist medical practitioners (19)
8. Heavy truck and lorry drivers (19)
9. Bus and tram drivers (19)
10. Health care assistants (18)
11. Electrical mechanics and fitters (17)
12. Butchers, fishmongers and related food preparers (17)
13. Structural metal preparers and erectors (17)
14. Cooks (17)
15. Air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics (16)
16. Carpenters and joiners (16)
17. Motor vehicle mechanics and repairers (16)
18. Chefs (16)
19. Agricultural and industrial machinery mechanics (16)
20. Electrical engineers (16)
21. Roofers (15)
22. Metal working machine tool setters and operators (15)
23. Floor layers and tile setters (15)
24. Physiotherapists (15)

The number of widespread shortage occupations fell from 43 in the previous edition to 24, but the report notes that the severity of the remaining widespread shortages has increased: on average, about 30% of the reports for these 24 occupations are high severity. In other words, the list has become shorter and more concentrated, not easier.

Looking at broad occupational groups, the report finds that shortages are most frequent among craft and related trades workers, plant and machine operators and assemblers, and professionals. More than half (57%) of workers in widespread shortage occupations have medium-level qualifications, typically vocational training rather than a university degree. That is a useful signal for foreign jobseekers: a recognised trade qualification and proven experience can be as valuable as a degree.

Around one quarter of all employment in the EURES countries, about 53 million people, is in occupations that are in widespread shortage or widespread surplus.

Health and care

Health and care is the sector with the most acute and persistent shortages. It employs around 25 million people, about 11% of total employment in the EURES countries. Five health occupations are among the 24 widespread shortages: specialist doctors, general practitioners, nurses, health care assistants and physiotherapists. On average, 36% of the shortage reports for health occupations are high severity, compared with 28% in other sectors. For specialist medical practitioners,s the share is 55%, and for nursing professionals, ls 40%.

The report points to several causes: an ageing population increasing demand for care, an ageing health workforce, long training periods, regulated entry, and difficult working conditions such as shift work, long hours and emotional strain. For specialist and generalist doctors, no participating country reported a surplus, which means there is no pool of unemployed doctors elsewhere in Europe to draw on.

Health and care already relies heavily on workers trained abroad. Among home-based personal care workers, 8% are EU mobile workers and 26% are migrants. In some regulated professions such as medicine and dentistry, up to 18% of those employed are mobile or migrant workers, and the report gives examples of high shares of foreign-trained doctors in Hungary, Austria and Germany. At the same time, it warns that heavy recruitment from abroad can worsen shortages in the sending countries if it is not accompanied by safeguards.

For foreign applicants, health is also the area with the highest entry barriers. Doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and many care roles are regulated professions, so you normally need formal recognition of your qualification and proof of language skills before you can practise. The report itself names complex recognition procedures, language requirements and uneven training standards as obstacles to mobility. Recognition is covered in our separate guide on getting qualifications recognised in Europe.

Construction, installation and green transition trades

Building trades dominate the rest of the shortage list. Electricians, plumbers and pipe fitters, carpenters and joiners, roofers, floor layers and tile setters, and air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics are all reported as short in 15 or more countries. For building electricians, 29% of shortage reports are high severity.

The report links part of this demand to climate policy: renovating buildings for energy efficiency and installing renewable energy systems need electricians, heat pump and air conditioning technicians and roofers. It records employment growth in shortage occupations tied to the renewables industry between 2021 and 2024. The EU's 2024 action plan on labour and skills shortages also cited an expected 3.5 million new jobs in renewable energy by 2030.

Eurostat data confirm the pressure in this sector. In the second quarter of 2026, construction had a job vacancy rate of 3.0% in the euro area and 2.8% in the EU, the highest of the main economic activities listed by Eurostat.

Some trades are regulated in some countries and not others, so check whether a foreign trade certificate will be accepted.

Metalworking, engineering and manufacturing

Welders and flame cutters are joint top of the list with specialist doctors, reported as short in 22 countries, with 32% of reports of high severity. Sheet metal workers, structural metal preparers and erectors, and metal working machine tool setters and operators are also in widespread shortage. These occupations are needed in shipbuilding, energy infrastructure, construction, and manufacturing.

Maintenance and repair skills are also scarce: motor vehicle mechanics, agricultural and industrial machinery mechanics, and electrical mechanics and fitters all appear on the list. Electrical engineers are the only engineering profession among the 24 widespread shortages, reported in 16 countries. Several national summaries published by EURES also mention science and engineering professionals or associate professionals among their main shortage groups, including Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Austria and Ireland.

Transport and driving

Heavy truck and lorry drivers and bus and tram drivers are each reported as short in 19 countries, with 32% of reports high severity for both. The report notes that shortages have persisted even where employment in these occupations has fallen, reflecting an ageing workforce and working conditions that discourage new entrants.

Professional driving is heavily regulated in Europe. In the EU, drivers need the right licence category and a Certificate of Professional Competence, and rules on exchanging a non-EU licence differ by country. These requirements are covered in detail in our separate articles on foreign truck driving licences, foreign bus drivers and finding a driving job in Europe from outside the EU. By contrast, car, taxi and van drivers appear among the reported surplus occupations, so a general driving licence alone is not a shortage qualification.

Hospitality and food

Cooks (17 countries), chefs (16) and butchers, fishmongers and related food preparers (17) remain among the widespread shortages. However, the report finds that hospitality shortages are becoming less pronounced than in previous years. The share of countries reporting cooks in shortage fell by 15.1 percentage points compared with the previous edition, and the report suggests that the post-pandemic surge in hospitality demand is subsiding. Waiters are not among the 24 widespread shortages in this edition.

Eurostat data show accommodation and food services still had a relatively high vacancy rate of 2.6% in the euro area and 2.5% in the EU in the second quarter of 2026.

Information and communication technology

ICT is frequently described as a shortage area, but the official data are more mixed than many people expect. No ICT occupation, such as software developer, appears among the 24 widespread shortage occupations in the 2025 EURES report. The report does refer to severe shortages of ICT professionals in Romania, and the national summaries published by EURES list ICT professionals among the main shortage groups in Austria, Ireland and Switzerland, and ICT among long-standing shortage sectors in the Netherlands.

The ICT sector's vacancy rate was 2.3% in the euro area and 2.2% in the EU in the second quarter of 2026, close to the overall average. Looking forward, Cedefop's forecast, as summarised by EURES in September 2026, expects ICT employment in the EU to grow by an average of 2.5% a year to 2035, with much of the demand in specific areas driven by green and digital technologies.

In short, ICT demand is concentrated in particular countries and specialisms rather than being a general shortage across Europe in the way welding or nursing is.

Where shortages are concentrated

Shortages are reported in nearly all occupations in at least one country, but a small number of countries account for a large share of them. In the 2025 report, five countries together account for 38% of all reported shortage occupations:

• Italy: 253 occupations in shortage
• Netherlands: 195
• Bulgaria: 193
• Belgium: 184
• Romania: 170

Others report far fewer, such as Malta (4), Croatia (30) and Ireland (30), though a low count may reflect a strict national definition.

Surpluses are even more concentrated. Austria reported 322 surplus occupations, Finland 316, Latvia 284, Czechia 141 and Greece 134. Austria and Finland alone account for nearly one third of all reported surpluses. In 12 countries, national offices reported some occupations as both in shortage and in surplus, usually because demand and supply differ between regions.

What the latest job vacancy data show

Eurostat's job vacancy release for the second quarter of 2026, published on 15 September 2026, puts the job vacancy rate at 2.1% in the euro area and 2.0% in the EU. Both were slightly down from the first quarter of 2026 (2.3% and 2.1%) and the second quarter of 2025 (2.2% and 2.1%). For the euro area, the rate was 2.0% in industry and construction and 2.2% in services; for the EU, 1.8% and 2.1%.

The highest rates among EU Member States were in:

• the Netherlands (4.1%)
• Belgium (3.3%)
• Malta (3.1%)
• Austria (2.9%)

The lowest were in Romania (0.5%), Poland and Bulgaria (both 0.8%), and Spain and Slovakia (both 0.9%).

The Statistics Explained article on job vacancies breaks this down by activity. Construction (3.0% euro area), administrative and support services (2.8%), accommodation and food services (2.6%), and information and communication and professional, scientific and technical activities (both 2.3%) were among the highest.

A low vacancy rate does not mean there are no shortages: Bulgaria and Romania have some of the lowest vacancy rates yet report among the most shortage occupations. The ELA report also notes that vacancy rates have declined since 2022, suggesting some loosening of labour markets overall, but this has not translated into a substantial easing of shortages in many occupations. The shortages that remain look increasingly structural rather than cyclical.

Occupations with more workers than jobs

The 2025 report's most widespread surplus occupations are:

• Graphic and multimedia designers (19 countries)
• Cleaners and helpers in offices, hotels and other establishments (16)
• General office clerks (15)
• Secretaries (general) (15)
• Shop sales assistants (14)
• Translators, interpreters and other linguists (14)

Travel consultants, car and taxi drivers, and administrative secretaries are also mentioned among surplus roles. By broad group, surpluses are most frequent among clerical support workers, elementary occupations, and services and sales workers. The report links part of the clerical surplus to automation and generative AI, which are taking over repetitive tasks.

There is also a gender dimension. Women make up only about 27% of employment in widespread shortage occupations but about 70% in widespread surplus occupations. Workers aged 50 and over make up 36% of those in shortage occupations and 39% of those in surplus occupations, which signals high replacement demand as they retire.

The report also finds that overqualification is widespread, particularly among migrantsin low-skilledd surplus occupations. In practice, many foreign workers with degrees end up in jobs below their level, often because their qualifications are not recognised, or they lack the local language.

Why the shortages persist

The ELA's executive director summarised the report's main message: labour shortages in Europe are no longer simply about a lack of people, and in many cases they reflect deeper mismatches between skills and job requirements. The report identifies several structural drivers.

• Demographic change. Europe's population is ageing, raising demand for health and care while large numbers of workers approach retirement.
• Skills mismatch. Many jobseekers do not have the specific vocational skills employers need. The report states that increasing the supply of highly educated workers alone is unlikely to resolve most shortages.
• Job quality. Long hours, shift work, physical or emotional strain,n and low pay in some occupations discourage new entrants and push existing staff out.
• Long training and regulation. Occupations such as medicine take years to train for, so supply cannot respond quickly.
• Limited mobility. Workers are often unaware of opportunities abroad, qualifications may not be recognised, language can be a barrier, and lower wages in some countries discourage moving there.

Strikingly, the report finds that 98% of occupations in shortage in one country are reported as in surplus in at least one other country, so in theory much of the gap could be closed by cross-border matching within Europe. The big exception is health: doctors in particular have no surplus country to draw from.

Looking ahead to 2035

Cedefop's latest skills forecast dataset, released on 17 June 2026, projects employment by sector, occupation and qualification up to 2035. As summarised by EURES in September 2026, the forecast expects total EU employment to grow by just over 4% between 2023 and 2035, while the core working age group of 30 to 54 shrinks. Among the occupations expected to face the greatest shortages are managers and health professionals. Fast growth is expected in ICT and in electricity generation, while coal employment is expected to decline sharply.

Cedefop's Labour and Skills Shortage Index, published in December 2024, looks at shortages to 2035 by combining demand, replacement needs and qualification mismatches. It finds critical shortages in high-skilled legal, social, cultural and health professions, combined demand and supply pressures in medium-skilled service and sales jobs, and replacement-driven shortages in low-skilled personal care and manual roles. It also shows different national patterns: high-skilled shortages are dominant in Slovakia, Czechia, Poland and Italy; low-skilled shortages stand out in Bulgaria and Ireland; and Greece, Spain and the Netherlands face shortages across all skill levels.

National examples from EURES country information

EURES publishes a labour market information page for each country, based on input from national public employment services. The versions available on 6 October 2026 were last updated on 24 February 2025 and describe the situation in 2024. They give a feel for how shortage profiles differ:

• Germany: science and engineering associate professionals, building trades and health associate professionals, with regional shortages in nursing, plumbing and heating, energy technology and mechatronics.
• Netherlands: business and administration associate professionals, building trades and science and engineering professionals, with long-standing shortages in care, education, ICT and technology.
• Austria: ICT professionals, metal and machinery trades and science and engineering associate professionals. The page notes that the Red White Red Card, Austria's permit for qualified non-EU workers, supports recruitment into these gaps.
• Poland: building trades, metal and machinery trades and teaching professionals, with further shortages in health, transport (including bus and lorry drivers), logistics and catering.
• Spain: health professionals, stationary plant and machine operators and agricultural labourers.
• Ireland: science and engineering professionals, ICT professionals and health professionals, with gaps including nurses, construction workers, accountants, software developers and engineers.
• Norway (EEA, not EU): building trades, science and engineering professionals and teaching professionals, with nurses, health care assistants and specialist doctors short in all regions.
• Switzerland (outside the EU and EEA): science and engineering professionals, health professionals and ICT professionals.

Switzerland illustrates why a shortage does not automatically open the door to non-EU workers. Its EURES page states that employers need a cantonal permit to hire someone from outside the EU and EFTA, that recruitment is limited to highly qualified specialists, and that the employer must show no suitable person could be found in the EU or EFTA area.

For formal national shortage lists used in immigration rules, always use the current version from the relevant ministry or immigration authority. How such lists affect permits is covered in our separate article on shortage jobs and work permits.

What this means if you are from outside the EU

Shortage data describe employer demand. They do not create a right to work. For citizens of countries outside the EU and EEA, access to the labour market depends on national immigration law and, where it applies, EU rules such as the single permit for residence and work. That directive applies in all EU countries except Denmark and Ireland, and the recast version, Directive (EU) 2024/1233, requires decisions on single permit applications within 90 days, including any labour market test. The permit procedure is covered in our separate single permit guide.

EU citizens and nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland can generally move to fill shortages elsewhere in the EU and EEA under free movement rules. That is why the ELA report puts so much emphasis on intra-European mobility: in most occupations, employers will first look for candidates in the local and European labour market.

The EU is building additional channels for third-country workers. The EU Talent Pool is intended to help employers recruit non-EU workers for occupations facing shortages. The regulation entered into force on 1 June 2026; Member State participation is voluntary, and the Commission expects the platform to be fully operational by the end of 2027. Neither creates a guaranteed job or right of entry.

Some EU support is also open to non-EU nationals already living in Europe. The EURES Targeted Mobility Scheme supports jobseekers aged 18 and over who are nationals of an EU country, Norway or Iceland, or anyone legally resident in these countries, with possible funding for language courses, qualification recognition and travel when moving for a job in another of those countries.

How to use shortage data in your job search

1. Match your occupation precisely. Shortage lists use detailed occupation codes. "Engineer" is too broad: electrical engineers are a widespread shortage, but other engineering fields may not be. Find the closest ISCO or ESCO occupation for your actual work.
2. Check several countries, not just one. Use the EURES shortages and surpluses dashboard to see which countries report your occupation as short and how severe the shortage is.
3. Look at regions. National averages hide regional differences, which EURES country pages often show.
4. Confirm the national rules. Being on an EU-level list does not mean a country's immigration rules treat the job as a shortage occupation. Check the official national list and permit conditions.
5. Start recognition early. For regulated professions such as medicine, nursing and some trades, recognition can take months. Shortage alone does not shorten it.
6. Invest in the language. It is one of the main barriers the report identifies, especially in health and care.
7. Use official job channels. Use the EURES portal and public employment services, and be wary of anyone charging fees for a "shortage" job.

Sources and References

• EURES report on labour shortages and surpluses 2025 (PDF), European Labour Authority
• Labour shortages and surpluses in Europe 2025, European Labour Authority
• ELA launches 2025 EURES report, European Labour Authority
• Labour shortages and surpluses dashboard, EURES
• Job vacancy rate, second quarter 2026, Eurostat
• Job vacancy statistics, Eurostat Statistics Explained
• Skills forecast dataset 2026, Cedefop
• Labour and Skills Shortage Index, Cedefop
• What the 2035 skills forecast means for you, EURES
• Action plan on labour and skills shortages, European Commission
• Single permit for residence and work, European Commission
• EU Talent Pool, European Commission
• Labour market information by country, EURES
• Labour market information Germany, EURES
• Labour market information Netherlands, EURES
• Labour market information Austria, EURES
• Labour market information Poland, EURES
• Labour market information Spain, EURES
• Labour market information Ireland, EURES
• Labour market information Norway, EURES
• Labour market information Switzerland, EURES
• EURES Targeted Mobility Scheme, EURES

Information verified on 6 October 2026.