Data report

57.5% of European companies that tried to hire an ICT specialist could not fill the role

Only 9.6% of EU enterprises with 10 or more employees tried to recruit an ICT specialist in 2024, and 57.5% of those reported hard-to-fill vacancies. The barriers are evenly spread across applications, qualifications, experience and salary expectations, which is what a structural shortage looks like rather than a pay problem. Meanwhile 22.3% of enterprises trained their own staff in ICT skills.

1. 01

   21.2% of EU enterprises with 10 or more employees either employed ICT specialists or recruited for such a role in 2024. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

2. 02

   9.6% recruited or tried to recruit personnel for jobs requiring ICT specialist skills. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

3. 03

   5.5% of all enterprises had hard-to-fill vacancies for those jobs. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

4. 04

   5.1% both employed ICT specialists and had hard-to-fill vacancies, so the shortage bites hardest where there is already a team. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

1. 05

   57.5% of EU enterprises that tried to recruit ICT specialists reported hard-to-fill vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

2. 06

   43.2% of those recruiters cite a lack of applications. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

3. 07

   41.9% cite applicants’ salary expectations. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

4. 08

   41.7% cite a lack of relevant qualifications or education. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

5. 09

   40.9% cite a lack of relevant work experience. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

6. 10

   No single barrier dominates: applications, qualifications, experience and pay are all cited by roughly four in ten recruiters. (Eurostat, 2024)Directional

1. 11

   22.3% of EU enterprises with 10 or more employees provided training to develop their staff’s ICT skills. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

2. 12

   19.4% trained non-specialist employees in ICT skills. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

3. 13

   11.4% trained their own ICT specialists. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

4. 14

   13.1% both employ ICT specialists and provide ICT training. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

5. 15

   9.2% provide ICT training without employing any ICT specialists. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

1. 16

   51.9% of EU enterprises with 250 or more employees recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

2. 17

   20.2% of EU enterprises with 50 to 249 employees recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

3. 18

   6.2% of EU enterprises with 10 to 49 employees recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

4. 19

   35.4% of EU enterprises with 250 or more employees had hard-to-fill ICT vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

5. 20

   11.9% of EU enterprises with 50 to 249 employees had hard-to-fill ICT vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

6. 21

   3.3% of EU enterprises with 10 to 49 employees had hard-to-fill ICT vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

1. 22

   Germany: 72.4% of enterprises that tried to recruit ICT specialists reported hard-to-fill vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

2. 23

   Czechia: 70.5% of enterprises that tried to recruit ICT specialists reported hard-to-fill vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

3. 24

   Malta: 67.9% of enterprises that tried to recruit ICT specialists reported hard-to-fill vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

4. 25

   Austria: 67.3% of enterprises that tried to recruit ICT specialists reported hard-to-fill vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

5. 26

   Luxembourg: 65.3% of enterprises that tried to recruit ICT specialists reported hard-to-fill vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

6. 27

   Slovenia: 63.9% of enterprises that tried to recruit ICT specialists reported hard-to-fill vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

7. 28

   Netherlands: 63.1% of enterprises that tried to recruit ICT specialists reported hard-to-fill vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

8. 29

   Belgium: 62.5% of enterprises that tried to recruit ICT specialists reported hard-to-fill vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

9. 30

   Hungary: 62.4% of enterprises that tried to recruit ICT specialists reported hard-to-fill vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

10. 31

    Greece: 59.6% of enterprises that tried to recruit ICT specialists reported hard-to-fill vacancies. (Eurostat, 2024)Verified

Figures come from Eurostat dataset isoc_ske_itrcrs (Enterprises that recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists by size class of enterprise), last published 2026-06-15, reference period 2024. The unit is the percentage of enterprises in the stated size class, across all activities except agriculture, forestry, fishing and financial services. Difficulty percentages in the recruitment section are shares of the enterprises that actually recruited, not of all enterprises. Training figures come from a second dataset, isoc_ske_ittn2 (Enterprises that provided training to develop/upgrade ICT skills of their personnel by NACE Rev.2 activity, period 2024). Nothing on this page is modelled, weighted or adjusted by us: each figure is read straight from the dataset and can be reproduced in the Eurostat data browser.

Every data point carries one of three labels. Verified means the figure was read from the named primary source. Directional means sources agree on the trend but measure it differently. Single source means one publisher reported it and nobody has corroborated it. We would rather label a number honestly than round it into confidence it has not earned.

• Eurostat — Enterprises that recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists by size class of enterprise (isoc_ske_itrcrs). Period 2024, published 2026-06-15. View the dataset.
  EU statistical office. Annual survey of enterprises; percentages are of enterprises in the stated size class unless noted.
• Eurostat — Enterprises that provided training to develop/upgrade ICT skills of their personnel by NACE Rev.2 activity (isoc_ske_ittn2). Period 2024, published 2026-06-15. View the dataset.
  EU statistical office. Annual survey of enterprises; percentages are of enterprises in the stated size class unless noted.