Teachers, healthcare professionals and information and communications technology workers are among the hardest occupations to recruit across Europe, according to an OECD comparison of labour-market shortages. The findings highlight a structural problem: even as younger graduates face weaker job prospects, employers in essential and specialised sectors continue to struggle to find suitably skilled workers.
The OECD analysis covers 27 European countries, including EU member states as well as Norway, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom. Its data mostly come from 2024 and compare occupations within each country, rather than counting the total number of vacancies or estimating the absolute number of missing workers.
Which jobs are hardest to fill?
Teaching ranks as the occupation most frequently affected by relative shortages. It appears among the five hardest jobs to recruit in 13 countries. Health professionals and ICT professionals each feature in the top five in 12 countries.
Other occupations frequently affected include managers, health associate professionals, personal care workers, and business and administration professionals.
Looking across the broader OECD classification, health professionals are in relative shortage in 23 of the 27 countries studied. Health associate professionals are also difficult to recruit in 21 countries, while teaching is hard to fill in 21.
- Teachers feature among the five hardest occupations to recruit in 13 countries.
- Health professionals and ICT professionals appear in the top five in 12 countries each.
- Health professionals are in relative shortage in 23 countries.
- Teaching is classified as difficult to fill in 21 countries.
- ICT and business and administration professionals are hard to find in 18 countries each.
Why are healthcare workers in short supply?
Healthcare shortages are linked to both growing demand and difficult working conditions. Representatives of European medical and nursing organisations pointed to high workloads, unsafe environments, limited career progression and insufficient recognition.
Nursing shortages are particularly associated with high patient-to-nurse ratios, mental-health pressures and exposure to harassment or violence. Doctors are also facing longer working hours and heavier workloads as health systems attempt to compensate for staffing gaps. These pressures can contribute to burnout and make healthcare careers less attractive over the long term.
Pay remains an important factor, but the recruitment challenge is broader. Retaining trained workers depends on staffing levels, professional autonomy, management quality, workplace safety and opportunities to develop.
Teacher shortages are about more than salaries
Teaching is difficult to fill in most countries covered by the analysis, although the OECD classifies the occupation as broadly balanced in Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain and Türkiye.
Education employers say the role has become more demanding as schools introduce digital tools, support more diverse classrooms and take greater responsibility for student wellbeing. Teachers are also dealing with additional administrative duties.
Competitive salaries are still essential, but working conditions, professional autonomy, career development and the quality of school leadership also influence whether people enter and remain in teaching. This makes teacher recruitment a long-term workforce issue rather than simply a matter of filling current vacancies.
Could artificial intelligence change ICT shortages?
Digitalisation has increased demand for ICT professionals across much of Europe. The occupation is difficult to recruit in 18 countries, alongside business and administration professionals.
However, the outlook may not be uniform. OECD economist Isabel Skak Olufsen said advances in artificial intelligence could reduce demand for some ICT roles, particularly entry-level positions, even while demand remains strong for workers with advanced or specialised skills.
The national picture already varies. ICT labour markets are classified as broadly balanced in Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. They are classified as being in surplus in Austria, Switzerland and the UK.
Which jobs are easiest to recruit?
Lower-skilled and routine occupations generally appear at the other end of the comparison. Labourers are among the five easiest jobs to recruit in 14 countries and are classified as relatively easy to find in 21 countries overall.
Food preparation assistants appear among the five easiest occupations in 12 countries, while other clerical workers feature in 11. Elementary workers, sales workers and assemblers also appear regularly among the occupations with relative labour surpluses.
These results do not mean that every employer can fill such roles quickly. The index measures how difficult an occupation is compared with other jobs in the same country. Local wages, working conditions, geography and seasonal demand can still create recruitment problems.
Why do shortages differ between countries?
National economies have different industrial structures, education systems and worker-mobility patterns. Manufacturing-heavy economies may experience shortages in occupations such as assemblers and machine operators, while service-based economies may face greater demand for care, education or digital skills.
Country-specific results illustrate the difference. Labourers are relatively difficult to recruit in Norway, despite being among the easiest occupations to find across most countries. Food preparation assistants are hardest to recruit in Spain, while elementary workers are hardest to find in France.
Pay also matters. Countries offering more competitive salaries to teachers and health professionals may experience fewer shortages. At the same time, workers may be unable or unwilling to move between countries because of language requirements, recognition of qualifications, housing costs or family responsibilities.
What can governments and employers do?
The European Labour Authority describes many shortages as structural rather than temporary. Demographic change is increasing demand for healthcare and other essential services, while skills mismatches leave some workers qualified for roles that are not available in their local labour market.
Potential responses include:
- Expanding vocational education, retraining and lifelong learning.
- Improving pay, staffing levels and workplace safety in shortage occupations.
- Making it easier to recognise professional qualifications across borders.
- Supporting fair labour mobility between countries with different shortages and surpluses.
- Helping employers identify transferable skills rather than relying only on formal job titles.
The OECD comparison shows that European labour shortages cannot be solved through recruitment campaigns alone. Better training must be matched with better job quality and policies that help workers move into roles where their skills are most needed.
Conclusion
The clearest lesson from this European labour-market analysis is that shortages are concentrated in occupations that require specialised training, professional responsibility or sustained human contact. Teachers, nurses, doctors and technology workers remain difficult to recruit, while routine roles are generally easier to fill. Addressing the imbalance will require coordinated investment in skills, working conditions and fair mobility—not just more vacancies being advertised.