Euro area unemployment at 6.5% (2024)

Euro indicators 3 April 2024 Next release: 3 May 2024

February 2024

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EU stable at 6.0%

Overview

In February 2024, the euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 6.5%, stable compared with January 2024 and down from 6.6% in February 2023. The EU unemployment rate was 6.0% in February 2024, also stable compared with January 2024 and compared with February 2023. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Eurostat estimates that 13.249 million persons in the EU, of whom 11.102 million in the euro area, were unemployed in February 2024.

  • Compared with January 2024, unemployment decreased by 13 thousand in the EU and increased by 17 thousand in the euro area.

  • Compared with February 2023, unemployment increased by 156 thousand in the EU and decreased by 30 thousand in the euro area.

Euro area unemployment at 6.5% (1)

Youth unemployment

In February 2024, 2.899 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.319 million were in the euro area. In February 2024, the youth unemployment rate was 14.8% in the EU, down from 14.9% in January 2024, and 14.6% in the euro area, stable compared to the previous month.

  • Compared with January 2024, youth unemployment decreased by 13thousand in the EU and by 4 thousand in the euro area.

  • Compared with February 2023, youth unemployment increased by 174thousand in the EU and by 91 thousand in the
    euro area.

Euro area unemployment at 6.5% (2)

Unemployment by sex

In February 2024, the unemployment rate for women was 6.4% in the EU, stable compared with January 2024, and the unemployment rate for men was 5.7%, down from 5.8% in the previous month. In the euro area, the unemployment rate for women was 6.9% and the unemployment rate for men was 6.1%, both stable compared with January 2024.

Additional labour market indicators

The estimates in this News Release are based on the globally used International Labour Organisation (ILO) standard definition of unemployment, which counts as unemployed people without a job who have been actively seeking work in the last four weeks and are available to start work within the next two weeks.

To capture in full the labour market situation, the data on unemployment have been complemented by additional indicators, e.g. underemployed part-time workers, persons seeking work but not immediately available and persons available to work but not seeking, released together with LFS data for the fourth quarter of 2023.

LFS data for the first quarter of 2024 will be released on 14 June 2024.

Tables

Seasonally adjusted unemployment, totals

Rates (%)

Number of persons (in thousands)

2023

2024

2023

2024

Feb

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Feb

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Euro area

6.6

6.5

6.5

6.5

6.5

11 132

11 129

11 094

11 085

11 102

EU

6.0

6.1

6.0

6.0

6.0

13 093

13 239

13 244

13 262

13 249

Belgium

5.6

5.5

5.6

5.5

5.5

300

295

298

297

298

Bulgaria

4.1

4.4

4.3

4.4

4.4

127

133

132

133

134

Czechia

2.5

2.5

2.8

3.0

2.6

129

129

144

154

137

Denmark

5.2

6.1

6.3

6.6

6.6

164

196

203

214

217

Germany

2.9

3.1

3.1

3.2

3.2

1 299

1 380

1 393

1 403

1 408

Estonia

5.1

6.4

7.0

7.5

7.7

37

48

52

56

57

Ireland

4.1

4.4

4.5

4.5

4.2

113

125

126

129

119

Greece

11.2

10.8

10.5

10.6

11.0

525

500

499

506

524

Spain

12.9

11.8

11.7

11.6

11.5

3 040

2 836

2 819

2 796

2 771

France

7.1

7.5

7.6

7.5

7.4

2 171

2 328

2 339

2 326

2 304

Croatia

6.3

6.2

6.1

6.0

6.0

108

105

104

103

101

Italy

7.8

7.5

7.3

7.3

7.5

1 975

1 928

1 865

1 866

1 912

Cyprus

6.4

6.0

6.2

6.6

6.4

31

29

31

33

32

Latvia

6.1

6.9

7.0

6.9

6.9

57

66

66

65

65

Lithuania

7.1

7.2

7.0

7.7

7.4

107

113

109

118

116

Luxembourg

4.9

5.6

5.5

5.6

5.6

16

19

19

19

19

Hungary

3.8

4.2

4.3

4.3

4.4

187

207

210

215

218

Malta

3.5

2.9

2.9

3.1

3.2

11

9

9

10

10

Netherlands

3.5

3.5

3.6

3.6

3.7

356

357

361

368

379

Austria

5.0

5.0

5.4

4.9

4.7

234

234

253

233

224

Poland

2.7

3.0

3.0

2.9

2.9

474

543

537

523

517

Portugal

6.9

6.6

6.5

6.6

6.7

364

348

347

352

359

Romania

5.5

5.5

5.6

5.7

5.6

445

449

459

472

466

Slovenia

3.6

3.5

3.3

3.2

3.1

37

36

35

34

33

Slovakia

6.0

5.6

5.6

5.5

5.5

166

155

154

154

152

Finland

6.9

7.5

7.5

7.6

7.6

196

213

215

216

216

Sweden

7.3

8.0

8.1

8.1

8.1

417

458

461

463

465

Iceland

5.1

2.8

3.8

:

:

11

6

8

:

:

Norway

3.5

3.8

3.8

3.9

:

102

113

115

117

:

Switzerland

4.2

4.1

4.1

:

:

207

209

208

:

:

United States

3.6

3.7

3.7

3.7

3.9

6 072

6 289

6 339

6 202

6 556

: Data not available

Source datasets: une_rt_m (rates) and une_rt_m (in 1 000 persons)

Euro area unemployment at 6.5% (3)

Seasonally adjusted youth (under 25s) unemployment

Rates (%)

Number of persons (in thousands)

2023

2024

2023

2024

Feb

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Feb

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Euro area

14.1

14.6

14.6

14.6

14.6

2 228

2 321

2 325

2 323

2 319

EU

14.1

14.8

14.9

14.9

14.8

2 725

2 852

2 915

2 912

2 899

Belgium

15.0

17.1

17.1

:

:

64

74

74

:

:

Bulgaria

9.2

13.8

14.3

15.5

16.2

13

16

16

18

19

Czechia

7.4

6.3

8.4

8.1

7.9

20

17

23

24

22

Denmark

10.3

13.4

14.0

13.1

15.1

47

67

69

62

76

Germany

5.8

5.8

5.8

5.8

5.8

267

260

261

261

261

Estonia

11.7

20.1

18.3

17.8

18.0

6

11

10

10

10

Ireland

9.9

10.9

11.3

11.7

10.5

35

40

42

45

40

Greece

27.6

31.1

25.5

22.5

25.0

73

75

70

54

61

Spain

30.0

28.9

28.8

28.7

28.2

492

499

501

504

500

France

16.8

17.4

17.3

17.3

17.2

553

590

588

589

590

Croatia

18.8

18.5

18.5

:

:

23

22

22

:

:

Italy

21.9

22.2

21.9

22.1

22.8

340

332

340

337

343

Cyprus

15.7

18.1

18.1

:

:

7

7

7

:

:

Latvia

13.2

14.7

14.6

13.9

13.4

9

10

9

9

8

Lithuania

13.0

16.3

16.2

16.6

16.6

12

16

16

17

17

Luxembourg

17.3

20.4

19.8

20.0

20.0

4

5

5

5

5

Hungary

10.9

13.9

14.1

14.4

15.2

33

43

44

45

47

Malta

11.0

8.9

8.5

9.5

9.3

3

2

2

3

3

Netherlands

7.8

8.2

8.1

8.2

8.7

140

148

148

149

158

Austria

9.8

9.4

11.2

10.1

9.7

54

48

60

52

49

Poland

10.6

12.2

12.3

12.1

12.0

121

144

146

145

144

Portugal

18.9

23.1

22.8

23.8

23.1

71

89

88

93

89

Romania

22.0

22.1

22.1

:

:

105

106

106

:

:

Slovenia

7.0

10.6

10.6

:

:

5

8

8

:

:

Slovakia

18.6

19.7

19.3

19.0

18.8

27

27

27

26

26

Finland

15.5

16.8

16.9

16.9

17.0

51

54

54

54

54

Sweden

21.4

22.7

22.9

23.1

23.2

146

154

155

156

156

Iceland

14.2

5.9

9.8

:

:

4

2

3

:

:

Norway

9.4

11.4

11.3

12.5

:

39

50

46

54

:

Switzerland

8.5

8.3

8.1

:

:

50

49

49

:

:

: Data not available

Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania and Slovenia: quarterly data

Source datasets: une_rt_m (rates) and une_rt_m (in 1 000 persons)

Euro area unemployment at 6.5% (4)

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates (%), by gender

Males

Females

2023

2024

2023

2024

Feb

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Feb

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Euro area

6.2

6.2

6.2

6.1

6.1

7.0

6.9

6.9

6.9

6.9

EU

5.7

5.8

5.8

5.8

5.7

6.3

6.4

6.4

6.4

6.4

Belgium

6.2

5.6

5.6

5.6

5.6

4.9

5.4

5.5

5.4

5.4

Bulgaria

4.2

4.4

4.4

4.4

4.5

3.9

4.3

4.3

4.3

4.3

Czechia

2.1

2.1

2.4

2.4

2.2

2.9

3.0

3.2

3.6

3.2

Denmark

5.5

5.6

6.1

6.6

6.7

4.8

6.6

6.5

6.5

6.4

Germany

3.1

3.3

3.3

3.3

3.4

2.7

2.9

2.9

3.0

3.0

Estonia

5.3

6.2

6.7

7.2

7.5

5.0

6.7

7.3

7.8

7.8

Ireland

4.3

4.3

4.3

4.3

3.9

3.9

4.7

4.7

4.8

4.5

Greece

8.0

8.7

8.2

8.1

8.4

15.2

13.4

13.3

13.6

14.2

Spain

11.2

10.3

10.3

10.1

10.0

14.7

13.4

13.3

13.2

13.0

France

7.4

7.6

7.7

7.6

7.4

6.8

7.4

7.4

7.5

7.5

Croatia

5.6

5.6

5.5

5.4

5.2

7.0

6.9

6.8

6.8

6.8

Italy

7.0

6.7

6.5

6.5

6.5

8.9

8.6

8.4

8.4

8.7

Cyprus

5.8

6.2

6.4

6.9

6.7

7.0

5.8

6.0

6.3

6.1

Latvia

7.0

7.8

7.9

7.9

7.9

5.2

6.1

6.1

5.9

5.9

Lithuania

7.2

7.9

7.5

8.7

8.4

7.0

6.5

6.4

6.7

6.3

Luxembourg

4.8

5.5

5.4

5.6

5.6

5.1

5.8

5.7

5.7

5.7

Hungary

3.8

4.2

4.2

4.4

4.4

3.8

4.2

4.3

4.3

4.4

Malta

3.8

2.9

2.9

3.1

3.2

3.0

2.9

2.9

3.1

3.1

Netherlands

3.3

3.5

3.5

3.5

3.6

3.8

3.6

3.6

3.8

3.9

Austria

5.0

5.5

5.5

5.3

5.1

4.9

4.4

5.2

4.5

4.3

Poland

2.7

2.9

2.8

2.8

2.8

2.6

3.2

3.2

3.0

3.0

Portugal

6.6

6.3

6.3

6.1

6.1

7.2

6.8

6.8

7.1

7.3

Romania

5.7

5.8

6.3

6.3

6.0

5.2

5.1

4.7

5.0

5.2

Slovenia

3.5

3.4

3.2

3.1

3.0

3.7

3.7

3.5

3.4

3.3

Slovakia

6.0

5.5

5.4

5.4

5.3

6.1

5.8

5.7

5.7

5.6

Finland

7.5

8.2

8.3

8.3

8.3

6.4

6.7

6.7

6.8

6.8

Sweden

7.2

7.9

8.0

8.1

8.1

7.5

8.2

8.2

8.2

8.1

Iceland

6.7

2.9

3.2

:

:

3.2

2.7

4.5

:

:

Norway

3.9

4.0

3.7

4.7

:

3.8

3.5

3.3

4.1

:

Switzerland

4.0

4.0

3.9

:

:

4.3

4.3

4.3

:

:

: Data not available

Source dataset: une_rt_m

Euro area unemployment at 6.5% (5)

Notes for users

Revisions and timetable

The data in this News Release can be subject to revisions, caused by updates to the seasonally adjusted series whenever new monthly data are added; the inclusion of the most recent LFS data in the calculation process; update of seasonal adjustment models with complete annual data.

Compared with the rates published in News Release of 1 March 2024, the January 2024 unemployment rate for the euro area has been revised from 6.4% to 6.5%, while the unemployment rate for the EU remained unchanged. Among EU Member States, the rate has been revised by more than 0.1 percentage points (pp) upwards for Denmark (by 1.3 pp), Estonia and Malta (by 0.5 pp each) as well as for Greece (by 0.2 pp). The rate has not been revised by more than 0.1 percentage points (pp) downwards for any of the countries.

Country notes

Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden as well as Iceland and Norway: the trend component is used instead of the more volatile seasonally adjusted data.

Estonia and Portugal: 3-month moving averages of LFS data are used instead of pure monthly indicators.

Methods and definitions

Eurostat publishes harmonised unemployment rates for individual EU Member States, the euro area and the EU. These unemployment rates are based on the definition recommended by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The measurement is based on a harmonised data source, the European Union Labour Force Survey (LFS).

Based on the ILO definition, Eurostat defines unemployed persons as persons aged 15 to 74 who:

  • are without work;

  • are available to start work within the next two weeks;

  • and have actively sought employment at some time during the previous four weeks.

The unemployment rate is the number of people unemployed as a percentage of the labour force.

The labour force is the total number of people employed plus unemployed. In this news release unemployment rates are based on employment and unemployment data covering persons aged 15 to 74.

The youth unemployment rate is the number of people aged 15 to 24 unemployed as a percentage of the labour force of the same age. Therefore, the youth unemployment rate should not be interpreted as the share of jobless people in the overall youth population.

When data for the most recent month are not available for a Member State, EU and EA aggregates are calculated using the latest data available for that Member State.

Geographical information

Euro area (EA20): Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

European Union (EU27): Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.

For more information

  • Eurostat website section on employment and unemployment

  • Eurostat database section on unemployment, including non-seasonally adjusted and trend data

  • Eurostat Statistics Explained articles on unemployment

  • Eurostat metadata on adjusted unemployment series

  • Eurostat Euro indicators dashboard

  • Eurostat €-indicators release calendar

  • European Statistics Code of Practice

Get in touch

Media requests

Eurostat Media Support

Phone: (+352) 4301 33 408

E-mail: eurostat-mediasupport@ec.europa.eu

Further information on data

Thibaut HENRION

Phone: (+352) 4301 31 686

Nevena CHOLAKOVA

Phone: (+352) 4301 35 304

E-mail: estat-monthly-unemployment@ec.europa.eu

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' + '' + '' + '' + seriesName + '' + '' + '' + value + '' + '

'; } /** Close the tooltip content container */ tooltipContent += '

'; /** Return the formatted tooltip content */ return tooltipContent; }}/* * This content is licensed according to the W3C Software License at * https://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/2015/copyright-software-and-document * * File: sortable-table.js * * Desc: Adds sorting to a HTML data table that implements ARIA Authoring Practices */'use strict';class SortableTable { constructor(tableNode) { this.tableNode = tableNode; this.columnHeaders = tableNode.querySelectorAll('thead th.sortable'); this.sortColumns = []; for (var i = 0; i < this.columnHeaders.length; i++) { var ch = this.columnHeaders[i]; var buttonNode = ch.querySelector('button'); if (buttonNode) { this.sortColumns.push(i); // buttonNode.setAttribute('data-column-index', i); // buttonNode.addEventListener('click', this.handleClick.bind(this)); ch.setAttribute('data-column-index', i); ch.addEventListener('click', this.handleClick.bind(this)); } } this.optionCheckbox = document.querySelector( 'input[type="checkbox"][value="show-unsorted-icon"]' ); if (this.optionCheckbox) { this.optionCheckbox.addEventListener( 'change', this.handleOptionChange.bind(this) ); if (this.optionCheckbox.checked) { this.tableNode.classList.add('show-unsorted-icon'); } } } setColumnHeaderSort(columnIndex) { if (typeof columnIndex === 'string') { columnIndex = parseInt(columnIndex); } for (var i = 0; i < this.columnHeaders.length; i++) { var ch = this.columnHeaders[i]; var buttonNode = ch.querySelector('button'); if (i === columnIndex) { var value = ch.getAttribute('aria-sort'); if (value === 'ascending') { ch.setAttribute('aria-sort', 'descending'); this.sortColumn( columnIndex, 'descending', ch.classList.contains('num')); } else if (value === 'descending') { ch.removeAttribute('aria-sort'); this.sortColumn( columnIndex, 'initial', true ); } else { ch.setAttribute('aria-sort', 'ascending'); this.sortColumn( columnIndex, 'ascending', ch.classList.contains('num') ); } } else { if (ch.hasAttribute('aria-sort') && buttonNode) { ch.removeAttribute('aria-sort'); } } } } sortColumn(columnIndex, sortValue, isNumber) { function compareValues(a, b) { if (a.value === b.value) return 0; if (sortValue === 'descending') { return isNumber ? b.value - a.value : (a.value > b.value ? -1 : 1); } else { return isNumber ? a.value - b.value : (a.value < b.value ? -1 : 1); } } if (typeof isNumber !== 'boolean') { isNumber = false; } var tbodyNode = this.tableNode.querySelector('tbody'); var rowNodes = []; var dataCells = []; var rowNode = tbodyNode.firstElementChild; var index = 0; while (rowNode) { rowNodes.push(rowNode); var rowCells = rowNode.querySelectorAll('th, td'); var dataCell = rowCells[columnIndex]; var data = {}; data.index = index; if (sortValue !== 'initial') { data.value = dataCell.textContent.toLowerCase().trim(); } else { data.value = rowNode.getAttribute('initial-position').toLowerCase().trim(); } if (isNumber) { data.value = parseFloat(data.value); } dataCells.push(data); rowNode = rowNode.nextElementSibling; index += 1; } dataCells.sort(compareValues); // remove rows while (tbodyNode.firstChild) { tbodyNode.removeChild(tbodyNode.lastChild); } // add sorted rows for (var i = 0; i < dataCells.length; i += 1) { let pos = [dataCells[i].index]; if (sortValue === "initial") { rowNodes[pos].classList.remove("sorted"); } else { rowNodes[pos].classList.add("sorted"); } tbodyNode.appendChild(rowNodes[pos]); } } /* EVENT HANDLERS */ handleClick(event) { var tgt = event.currentTarget; this.setColumnHeaderSort(tgt.getAttribute('data-column-index')); } handleOptionChange(event) { var tgt = event.currentTarget; if (tgt.checked) { this.tableNode.classList.add('show-unsorted-icon'); } else { this.tableNode.classList.remove('show-unsorted-icon'); } }}$(document).ready(function() { load(); });;}());

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