A turnaround in Denmark’s job market: More vacancies posted

Denmark’s job market appears to have quietly improved over the summer. Employers posted 25,344 new positions on Jobnet.dk in August, a 15% increase from the same month last year.

It was the first time since August 2021 that August postings had risen year on year. The development surprised Kristian Skriver, chief economist for macroeconomics at Dansk Erhverv, given slower employment growth and energy price increases linked to the war in the Middle East.

A closer look at the figures offered two possible explanations. Transport and warehouse work accounted for many of the new postings, which Skriver said could reflect stronger exports to nearby markets. Denmark has recently seen export growth to Sweden, Germany and the United Kingdom.

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I did not expect this, given that the rate of employment growth has slowed and that the war in the Middle East has caused energy price increases that affect many Danish companies.

“When more goods have to be sent abroad, companies typically also need people to process orders and transport the goods from the warehouse to the customer,” Skriver said.

Demand also increased in the hotel and restaurant sector. Skriver pointed to signs that Danes had begun spending more of the extra money available through wage increases and tax cuts, even though consumer confidence remained weak. He added that relatively strong job security could also be supporting the trend.

The number of wage earners has grown by more than 30,000 a year in recent years. Statistics Denmark’s latest figures showed nearly 3.1 million wage earners in June, an increase of 34,500 over the previous year.

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We have seen export growth to Sweden, Germany and the United Kingdom.