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21 February 2020

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Hiring expertise in information and communication technologies (ICT) is a challenge for businesses in the European Union (EU). During 2018, 9% of EU enterprises recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists. More than half of these enterprises (58%) reported that they had problems filling vacancies requiring relevant ICT skills.

Among the EU Member States, enterprises in Romania found it most difficult to recruit ICT specialists. Although only 3% of Romanian enterprises recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists during 2018, 90% of them found it hard to fill these vacancies. Recruitment of ICT specialists was challenging for enterprises also in Czechia, where 80% found it hard to fill such vacancies, as well as in Austria (74%) and Sweden (72%). In contrast, the proportion of businesses finding it difficult to recruit ICT specialists was below 40% only in Spain (27%) and Greece (38%).

 
Bar chart: Enterprises with hard-to-fill vacancies for ICT specialists, by country, 2018
Data source: isoc_ske_itrcrn2
 

It is becoming more and more challenging for enterprises in the EU to fill their vacancies for ICT specialists. The share of enterprises who found it hard to fill these vacancies stood at 37% in 2013 and 38% in 2014. However, this share has risen sharply by 4-6 percentage points every year since, reaching a peak in 2018.

 
Infographics: Enterprises with hard-to-fill vacancies for ICT specialists in the EU, 2011-2018
Data source: isoc_ske_itrcrn2
 

The data in this article are based on the annual survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises. For more information on the statistics available in this area, take a look at the overview of statistics on the digital economy and society.

 

Note:

  • The European Union (EU) includes 27 EU Member States. The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020. Further information is published here.
  • Data in the database are organised according to the survey year; the results above refer to enterprises’ experiences during the calendar year prior to the survey.

 

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