The lowest point in vacancies probably reached at the end of 2009

According to a survey of enterprises by the Central Statistics Agency, the number of vacancies in 2009 dropped to 1.7 thousand, i.e. 100 vacancies less than in the previous quarter. It must be noted that the drop in vacancies in the second half of 2009 was determined by developments in the public sector as long unfilled vacancies remained in the public order, security, and law systems. In the privates sector, the number of vacancies has stabilized.

It can be predicted that the number of vacancies could rise a little as early as in the first half of 2010 - on account of the private sector. Positive tendencies at the beginning of 2010 are supported by the number of vacancies in the Registers of the State Employment Agency: at the end of December it reached a historic low (1.4 thousand), thereafter gradually climbing for three consecutive months and reaching 1.7 thousand by the middle of March. The rate of increase, however, will be slow for a while, for a gradual rise in demand for labour will at first be partly satisfied by increasing the length of the work week for partial-time employees. Moreover, as new vacancies appear, under the conditions of high unemployment, they will be filled in short order and thus will find only a minimal reflection in the vacancy statistics.