The portal reported that this year marked the end of a 12-quarter decline in job postings, which began in the second half of 2022 following a post-COVID hiring boom that had led to an unusually high number of job openings.

In 2025, job seekers submitted over 1.9 million applications to job postings published on CVKeskus.ee.

"Three challenging years have clearly made the labor market more competitive — where once an average of 25 people applied for each job, that number rose to 55 this year," said CVKeskus.ee marketing manager Henry Auväärt.

More than a thousand applicants competed simultaneously for the most sought-after positions and the most popular job posting this year received 1,669 applications.

Auväärt noted that such intense competition is not a new trend in 2025, as the number of applicants has remained high since the second half of 2023.

Competition fiercest in marketing

By sector, competition in 2025 was highest in marketing where an average of 92 applicants vied for each open position — an 18.2 percent increase from the previous year.

Above-average competition was also seen in the transport (78), tourism (77), customer service (75), sales (74), food service (68) and finance (60) sectors.

Competition for jobs was roughly half the average in education (12), law enforcement (19), energy (22) and healthcare (25).

The three most sought-after jobs this year were positions that could be done fully or partially from home.

A remote e-commerce website manager role drew 1,669 applications, 1,334 people applied for a fully remote insurance agent position and 1,155 applied to become a data entry clerk, also offering full remote work.

In addition to popular remote roles, more than 1,000 applicants also competed for top postings for administrative assistant (1,129), order picker (1,106), warehouse worker (1,047) and packer (1,028).

Rounding out the top ten most popular job postings of 2025 were recruitment assistant (957), summer shop assistant (938) and sales assistant (928).

Listings up in major fields

"The major engines of Estonia's labor market finally began to heat up in 2025," said Auväärt, describing the shift in employers' hiring activity. According to him, companies became more confident particularly when hiring skilled and vocational workers.

The job portal noted that the first signs of labor market recovery were visible as early as the end of the first quarter, though at the time it didn't yet signal a lasting shift. During the summer, the decline in job postings slowed noticeably and starting in August, the number of available positions began to show modest growth.

Among the country's key labor market drivers — industries with the highest number of job opportunities — the number of postings in the industrial and manufacturing sector grew by 11.7 percent this year. Hiring activity also picked up in customer service, with employers posting 0.8 percent more job ads in 2025 compared with the previous year.

Other major sectors also saw growth: job postings in transport and logistics rose by 3.1 percent year over year.

Compared to 2024, the number of job postings in 2025 also increased in IT (15.2 percent), energy (7.6 percent), law enforcement (6.4 percent) and electronics (4.2 percent).

Meanwhile, the food service sector remained notably weak, with 20.7 percent fewer job postings than the year before. The number of listings also declined in construction by 4.1 percent and in tourism by 4.2 percent.

Labor shortage lingers

Although the labor market in 2025 leaned more in favor of employers than usual, the portal noted that finding workers remained very difficult in several sectors, with minimal competition for open positions.

Employers faced the greatest challenges in the education, healthcare, construction and IT sectors. Weak competition was also seen in retail, transport, security and manufacturing.

In education, workforce shortages were worsened by the high share of teachers nearing retirement and the growing need for support specialists. The hardest positions to fill were special education teachers and science teachers, particularly in math, physics, chemistry and biology. There was also a shortage of language and support teachers, including social pedagogues, school psychologists, vocational educators and music teachers, as well as instructors for Estonian, Spanish and German.

In healthcare, while more people applied for open positions than in education, competition in several specialties was still virtually nonexistent. The most severe shortages were in speech therapists, psychologists, physiotherapists, midwives, dentists and neurologists. Demand for these professionals has remained high for years, but qualified labor is still in short supply.

In IT, the number of applicants has grown significantly in recent years, but that hasn't eased the shortage of top talent. Employers still struggled in 2025 to recruit software engineers, systems analysts, data scientists and high-level computer network specialists.

In construction, an average of 42 people applied for each position, but competition for specialist roles was two to three times lower. Electricians, plumbers, welders and construction cost estimators were especially difficult to find. There were also shortages of architectural designers, tilers, crane operators and surveyors.

In industry and mechanics, the greatest demand was for mechatronics technicians, automation specialists, assembly locksmiths and electrical and automation engineers. Employers also had trouble filling auto body technician positions.

2026 forecast: Finding a job to become easier

According to CVKeskus.ee, the labor market is expected to ease moderately in 2026, with competition for open positions gradually declining.

"The labor market outlook is positive based on current data. If the growth in job postings continues, competition for positions will decrease and finding a job will become easier next year," said CVKeskus.ee marketing manager Henry Auväärt.

Auväärt added that strong wage pressure is unlikely in the first half of the year, as legal changes are set to raise the average net salary. However, the requirement to disclose salaries may impact labor market dynamics.

Starting in June, employers will be required to disclose pay during the recruitment process, but since the exact rules have not yet been finalized, the portal said it is difficult to assess the potential impact.

"If salaries are made public for all job postings, the experience from Latvia and Lithuania suggests this could significantly boost job seekers' activity and interest," Auväärt explained.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!