[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"footer-data":3,"$f187507f073zcm":42},{"countries":4,"agencies":26},[5,10,14,18,22],{"id":6,"name":7,"agencyCount":8,"avgAgencySize":9},"seychelles","Seychelles",1,0,{"id":11,"name":12,"agencyCount":13,"avgAgencySize":9},"italy","Italy",861,{"id":15,"name":16,"agencyCount":17,"avgAgencySize":9},"qatar","Qatar",207,{"id":19,"name":20,"agencyCount":21,"avgAgencySize":9},"bosnia-and-herzegovina","Bosnia and Herzegovina",36,{"id":23,"name":24,"agencyCount":25,"avgAgencySize":9},"afghanistan","Afghanistan",16,[27,30,33,36,39],{"_id":28,"name":29,"id":28},"69301515b3404633fe0f16f2","Anexxa ® – Soluções de Recursos Humanos",{"_id":31,"name":32,"id":31},"69301514b3404633fe0f16e6","Robert Walters",{"_id":34,"name":35,"id":34},"69301517b3404633fe0f170f","Real",{"_id":37,"name":38,"id":37},"69301518b3404633fe0f1720","Experis Belgium",{"_id":40,"name":41,"id":40},"69301519b3404633fe0f1739","Reed",{"article":43},{"slug":44,"title":45,"html":46,"topic":47,"coverUrl":50,"coverAlt":51,"publishedAt":52,"agency":50,"related":53,"comments":82,"alternates":83},"it-recruitment-eastern-europe","IT recruitment in Eastern Europe: where the talent is","\u003Ch2 id=\"the-short-answer\">The short answer\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>If you want the largest pool of IT specialists in Eastern Europe, start with Poland. Eurostat, the EU statistics office, counted about 778,800 ICT specialists employed there in 2025, more than three times the figure for any other country in the region. Czechia, Hungary and Romania follow with roughly 208,000 to 248,000 each, and Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovakia sit between about 113,000 and 142,000.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Size is only half the picture. In 2024, about a third of Polish firms that tried to recruit ICT specialists said some of those vacancies were hard to fill, while in Czechia the figure was around 70%. A big pool where local employers struggle less can be easier to hire from than a smaller market where every company is chasing the same people.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>This article uses public Eurostat figures to compare the main countries, explains how to read them, and sets out the usual hiring routes and the questions to put to a local IT recruitment agency. Eastern Europe here means the EU members in central and eastern Europe, plus Serbia, which Eurostat also covers.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2 id=\"talent-by-country\">IT talent by country\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>The table combines two Eurostat series. The first counts people employed as ICT specialists, a broad group that includes software developers, systems administrators, ICT technicians and ICT managers. The second asks firms with ten or more employees that recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists whether any of those vacancies were hard to fill.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ctable>\u003Cthead>\u003Ctr>\u003Cth>Country\u003C\u002Fth>\u003Cth>ICT specialists employed, 2025\u003C\u002Fth>\u003Cth>Share of total employment, 2025\u003C\u002Fth>\u003Cth>Recruiting firms with hard-to-fill ICT vacancies, 2024\u003C\u002Fth>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Fthead>\u003Ctbody>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Poland\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>778,800\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>4.5%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>32%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Czechia\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>248,200\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>4.7%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>70%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Hungary\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>212,500\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>4.6%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>62%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Romania\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>207,800\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>2.7%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>49%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Bulgaria\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>141,500\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>4.8%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>41%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Serbia\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>120,600\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>4.2%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>not published\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Slovakia\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>113,500\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>4.4%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>53%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Lithuania\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>83,100\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>5.7%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>47%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Croatia\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>82,700\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>4.9%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>51%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Estonia\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>47,500\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>6.8%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>54%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Slovenia\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>45,200\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>4.5%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>64%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Latvia\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>39,700\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>4.5%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>54%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>EU total\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>10,450,800\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>5.0%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>58%\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Ftbody>\u003C\u002Ftable>\u003Cp>Eurostat marks the 2025 headcounts for Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia, Estonia and Serbia, and the EU total, as estimates. The vacancy column covers most of the business economy but leaves out the financial sector, and Serbia is not in that survey. Ukraine, a large tech market in the region, has no figure in either series, so it is not in the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2 id=\"how-to-read-the-figures\">How to read the figures\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Headcount\u003C\u002Fstrong> tells you how many people already do this work. Poland's lead is large enough that it is the natural first market for almost any IT role, from support engineers to senior developers. The smaller markets can still be the right choice when you need a particular language, time zone or industry background, but the pool for any single niche will be thin.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Share of employment\u003C\u002Fstrong> shows how central tech is to the local labour market. Estonia, at 6.8%, and Lithuania, at 5.7%, are above the EU average of 5.0% despite their small populations. Romania, at 2.7%, has one of the lowest shares in the EU, even though its headcount is close to Hungary's.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Hard-to-fill vacancies\u003C\u002Fstrong> are the best public signal of competition. Across the EU, about 58% of firms that recruited ICT specialists in 2024 reported at least one hard-to-fill vacancy, and Czechia, Slovenia and Hungary were all above that level. In Poland the figure was about 32%, among the lowest in the region.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Eurostat also asks why hiring was hard. In Czechia, about 57% of recruiting firms cited a lack of applications and about 54% said applicants' salary expectations were too high, against about 43% and 42% across the EU. In Poland, fewer than 10% cited a lack of applications and about 26% cited salary expectations.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Read these numbers as a guide to where to look, not as a promise. They describe local employers hiring locally, not a foreign company hiring remotely, and a specialist role can be scarce in a country that looks comfortable on average.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2 id=\"three-hiring-routes\">Three ways to hire in the region\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Most employers who hire IT staff in Eastern Europe use one of three routes. They answer different questions: who finds the person, who employs them, and who manages the work.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>A recruitment agency\u003C\u002Fstrong> finds and screens candidates for a role you define, and the person then joins your team. Someone still has to employ them: your own local entity, or an employer of record if you have no entity in that country.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>An outsourcing or software development company\u003C\u002Fstrong> employs the developers itself and sells you their time or a defined piece of work. You get speed and less admin, but the people stay on the provider's payroll and you have less say over who joins the team.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Direct hiring\u003C\u002Fstrong> means your own team sources and interviews candidates, then employs them through your entity or an employer of record. It costs the least in fees but needs local market knowledge and recruiter time that many teams do not have.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Cp>Many employers combine routes, for example an agency to find a first engineering lead and an outsourcing partner to cover a short project. Employment contracts, tax and whether a contractor arrangement is valid all depend on local law, so take those questions to counsel in the country of hire rather than settling them with the agency.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2 id=\"questions-for-a-local-agency\">What to ask a local IT recruitment agency\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>The general checks still apply, and our guide on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Framp.directory\u002Fen\u002Farticles\u002Fchoose-recruitment-agency\">how to choose a recruitment agency for a hard-to-fill role\u003C\u002Fa> covers sector fit, process and replacement terms. For IT roles in this region, add these questions before you sign.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Col>\u003Cli>Which countries do you actually recruit in, and where were your last few placements for roles like mine?\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>How do your recruiters test technical skills, and who in your team can judge a developer's work?\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>What salary range do you expect for this role in each country you suggest, and what is that based on?\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>How many candidates with this skill set do you expect to find, and how long did similar searches take?\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>Will candidates be employed by my entity, by an employer of record, or by you, and who handles onboarding?\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>Which language and time-zone requirements will shrink the shortlist most?\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Fol>\u003Cp>Ask for concrete answers. An agency that recruits across the whole region should be able to explain why it would search Poland first for one role and Romania or Bulgaria for another.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2 id=\"where-to-start\">Where to start\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Pick two or three countries rather than the whole region. Use the headcount column to find enough people, the vacancy column to judge competition, and your own needs for language, time zone and travel to narrow the list.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Then write one brief that states the role, the stack, the salary band you can pay and the employment route you plan to use. Send the same brief to one or two agencies that recruit in those countries and compare how they answer the questions above. Their answers will tell you more about the market for your role than any regional average.\u003C\u002Fp>",{"slug":48,"name":49},"staffing","Staffing",null,"","2026-10-17T07:20:05.521Z",[54,64,74],{"slug":55,"title":56,"excerpt":57,"topic":58,"coverUrl":61,"publishedAt":62,"publishedLabel":63},"employer-of-record-or-staffing-agency","Employer of record or staffing agency: which do you need?","Two services that answer different questions You have the work, and maybe even the person, but the job sits in a country where your company has no legal entity. Two kinds of provider offer to help,…",{"slug":59,"name":60},"employer-of-record","Employer of record","\u002Fuploads\u002Farticles\u002F6ad07d10dd19d6d35160e820\u002Fcover.jpg","2026-10-15T07:13:20.033Z","15 Oct 2026",{"slug":65,"title":66,"excerpt":67,"topic":68,"coverUrl":71,"publishedAt":72,"publishedLabel":73},"recruitment-agencies-find-and-win-new-clients","How recruitment agencies can find and win new clients","Treat new clients as a system, not luck Most small recruitment agencies win their first clients through people they already know: a former manager, a hiring lead from a previous job, a candidate who…",{"slug":69,"name":70},"agencies","Agencies","\u002Fuploads\u002Farticles\u002F6acdd97ebc08759f47f42eeb\u002Fcover.jpg","2026-10-13T07:10:54.116Z","13 Oct 2026",{"slug":75,"title":76,"excerpt":77,"topic":78,"coverUrl":79,"publishedAt":80,"publishedLabel":81},"choose-recruitment-agency","How to choose a recruitment agency for a hard-to-fill role","Start with the role, not the agency Most employers who turn to a recruitment agency for the first time do it because a role has stayed open too long. They are not alone: in ManpowerGroup's 2026…",{"slug":69,"name":70},"\u002Fuploads\u002Farticles\u002F6ac7553ecd9c320b308ede11\u002Fcover.jpg","2026-10-08T08:33:02.954Z","8 Oct 2026",[],[84,86,89,92],{"locale":85,"slug":44},"en",{"locale":87,"slug":88},"hi","poorvi-europe-mein-it-bharti-pratibha-kahan-hai",{"locale":90,"slug":91},"de","it-recruiting-in-osteuropa-wo-die-fachkraefte-sind",{"locale":93,"slug":94},"es","reclutamiento-de-ti-en-europa-del-este-donde-esta-el-talento"]