European labor market faces major shortage of technical and industrial workers

Analysis of data from Eurostat and the EURES network indicates that the European labor market faces a significant shortage of skilled workers, despite the rise of artificial intelligence. Between April 2025 and March 2026, employers across Europe posted more than 10 million job openings.

Technical workers emerged as the most sought-after group, with 731,953 vacancies. Other high-demand sectors include administrative and office specialists (630,033), metal and machine industry workers (596,701), machine and plant operators (522,808), and drivers and transport workers (519,386). Together, these five categories account for nearly three million job openings.

While ICT experts remain in demand, they rank sixth with approximately 375,070 vacancies. The data suggests that while digital transformation is ongoing, the immediate economic need focuses on maintaining industry, logistics, and infrastructure. Demand for technical roles is particularly high in Germany, France, Austria, Czechia, and Romania.