Finland reported an unemployment rate of 10.4% in March 2026, the highest rate in the European Union, new data from Eurostat has revealed.
Other countries to report a high unemployment rate for the month included Spain (10.3%), Greece (9.0%), Sweden (8.7%) and France (7.7%).
At the other end of the scale, Czechia reported the lowest unemployment rate (3.1%), alongside Bulgaria (3.2%) and Poland (3.3%), the data showed.
Unemployment rate in Europe
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area stood at 6.2% for the month, down from 6.3% in February and unchanged from March 2025. Across the wider European Union, the unemployment rate was 6.0%, holding steady both month-on-month and year-on-year.
In absolute terms, an estimated 13.226 million people were unemployed across the EU in March, including 10.984 million in the euro area.
Compared with the previous month, the number of unemployed people fell by 25,000 in the EU and by 63,000 in the euro area. On an annual basis, unemployment declined by 24,000 in the EU and by 170,000 in the euro area, Eurostat’s data showed.
Youth unemployment
In terms of youth unemployment, meanwhile, across the EU, 2.978 million people under the age of 25 were unemployed in March, with the youth unemployment rate rising slightly to 15.4% from 15.3% in February.
In the euro area, the rate remained stable at 14.9%. While youth unemployment increased by 19,000 in the EU compared with the previous month, it fell by 17,000 in the euro area.
In terms of gender, the unemployment rate for women was 6.2% across the EU, compared with 5.7% for men. In the euro area, the rate for women was higher at 6.5%, while men recorded a rate of 6.0%. These figures showed little change on a month-on-month basis, i.e. compared with February. Read more here.
