Region Zealand is the part of Denmark where employers are finding it hardest to fill vacant positions.
That is according to a new Recruitment Survey for spring 2026 from the Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment, STAR. In Region Zealand, 11.8 per cent of recruitment attempts ended without a hire, compared with 10.5 per cent nationwide. In total, there were 6,100 unsuccessful recruitment attempts in the region between June and November 2025.
Across Denmark, employers failed to fill vacancies 46,800 times during the period. That was slightly lower than in the previous survey, when the figure stood at 50,700. At the same time, the share of unsuccessful recruitment attempts fell from 11.1 per cent to 10.5 per cent.
Although the pressure has eased slightly, recruitment difficulties have remained broadly stable over the past two years. According to the report, labour shortages are still running at a level broadly comparable with 2019.
Electricians in short supply
Behind the regional average, some occupations stand out more than others. In Region Zealand, employers are facing the biggest shortages of electricians and social and health care assistants. In both professions, 24 per cent of recruitment attempts ended without a hire. Social and health care helpers and psychologists were also in short supply, with rates of 15 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.
Across the country as a whole, recruitment challenges were most severe in iron, metal and automotive trades, as well as in construction, where 19 per cent of recruitment attempts ended without a hire. At the other end of the scale were office, administration, accounting and finance at 4 per cent, and cleaning, property services and waste management at 6 per cent.
The report also shows that employers often have to lower their expectations to fill a vacancy. In 13 per cent of recruitment attempts, the position was filled by a candidate who did not have all the desired qualifications. That was particularly the case in Region Zealand and North Jutland. Employers most often pointed to a lack of work experience as the main shortcoming among candidates.
