Latest reading: Labour market conditions improved toward the end of the year, with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate easing to...
Unemployment in Euro Area
The Euro area's unemployment rate has nearly halved since 2014, reflecting strong labor demand, population ageing over the last decade, and government efforts to better match job seekers' skills to labor market opportunities. However, the unemployment remains higher than the G7 average, and there are huge disparities among members states.
In the year 2024, the unemployment in Euro Area was 6.36%, compared to 11.72% in 2014 and 6.56% in 2023. It averaged 8.47% over the last decade. For more unemployment information, visit our dedicated page.
Euro Area Unemployment Chart
Note: This chart displays Unemployment Rate for Euro Area from 2014 to 2025.
Source: Macrobond.
Euro Area Unemployment Data
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment (% of active population, aop) | 8.0 | 7.8 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.4 |
| Unemployment (% of active population, eop) | 8.2 | 7.1 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 6.3 |
Unemployment inches down in November
Latest reading: In November, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged down to 6.3% from October’s 6.4% and remained close to the November 2024 record low of 6.2%. As for the Eurozone’s largest economies, the unemployment rate fell in Italy and Spain, while it stabilized in France, Germany and the Netherlands. Significant disparities in labor market conditions between members persist: Finland was the economy with the highest unemployment rate in November (10.6%), followed by Spain (10.4%). At the other end of the spectrum, Malta (3.1%) and Germany (3.8%) had the lowest unemployment rates.
Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects European unemployment projections for the next ten years from a panel of 46 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable unemployment forecast available for European unemployment.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our European unemployment projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of European unemployment forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
Latest Global Unemployment News
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Euro Area: Unemployment inches down in November Latest reading: In November, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged down to 6.3% from October’s 6.4% and remained close to... -
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