EU Employment Rate Hits Record 75.8% as Unemployment Falls to 5.7%

1 articles · Updated · Punch Newspapers · Aug 12

Eurostat said the EU employment rate for people aged 20 to 64 rose to a record 75.8% in 2024, the highest since the bloc’s data series began in 2009.
OECD data reinforced that strength, showing EU unemployment fell to a record low 5.7% in February 2025 despite broader economic uncertainty.
82.3% in the Netherlands led the ranking cited in the report, with Germany at 77.6%, Denmark at 76.9% and Sweden at 76.2% among the strongest large performers.
Services, tourism, manufacturing, foreign investment and flexible labour-market models helped lift countries such as Malta, Czechia, Ireland, Poland and Portugal.
Italy still ranks among the EU’s weakest labour markets, while Spain, Greece and Croatia continue to face youth unemployment and regional gaps, underscoring uneven gains across Europe.