Increasing labour demand in the healthcare sector is confirmed by the latest European Vacancy Monitor(EVM) just published by the European Commission.

Employment in the EU healthcare sector has grown almost 2% annually between 2008 and 2012. This is the result of the combined effects of an ageing population, advances in technology and treatments, people expecting higher quality service and greater emphasis on preventative care. In 2012 almost one million people were hired to work in healthcare.

Nevertheless the Monitor reflects falling demand overall in the EU labour market, with 6% fewer vacancies in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with the last quarter of 2011. The number of people hired was down in the fourth quarter of 2012 in most of the main occupational groups and fell for ‘professionals’ for the first time since the second quarter of 2010 (by 5%).

The professions with the highest growth in employees after personal care workers in health services were software applications developers and analysts, administrative and specialised secretaries, mining, manufacturing and construction supervisors and primary school and early childhood teachers.

László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, said: “The European Vacancy Monitor allows jobseekers to identify which sectors offer the best prospects of finding a job. It also helps public authorities to invest in training people with the right skills to avoid shortages. The latest report confirms that healthcare is one of the sectors with the greatest potential for job creation in Europe and so where investment in training is urgent.”

Personal care in health services ranked first among the fastest growing occupations between the fourth quarter of 2011 and the fourth quarter of 2012. Three other health jobs are ranked in the top-25 growing professions: nursing and midwifery professionals, medical and pharmaceutical technicians and other health associated professionals e.g. dentists, pharmacists, physiotherapists. In the medium-term, job prospects look most promising for nurses and midwives.

The healthcare sector employs directly around one in every ten workers in the EU, with Germany and the UK employing some 60 % of healthcare staff in the EU27 according to the European Vacancy Monitor.

Occupations in health belong to the ‘top bottleneck occupations’ in Europe for which vacancies are difficult to fill according to the European Commission’s European Vacancy and Recruitment Report 2012.

An analysis of key trends for nurses and midwives within the EU Skills Panorama shows that a combination of factors contribute to the mismatch: insufficient numbers of nurses trained, competition for nurses across the world, significant replacement demand with an increasing number of nurses and midwives approaching retirement age, high attrition rates, pay and working conditions as well as lack of willingness to undertake the hard physical work.

The growth potential for long term care work will be at the focus of a conference on “More and Better Jobs in Home Care Services” organised on 12 September in Brussels by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound).