Ireland, Italy see biggest employment increase in Q1 2025

Ireland (+0.9 percentage points) and Italy (+0.7 percentage points) reported the biggest increase in employment in the EU, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, in the first quarter of 2025, new data from Eurostat has found.

Hungary, Sweden, Greece and Portugal, which each reported a 0.4-percentage-point gain in employment, were also among the 17 EU member states in which employment rose in the first quarter.

The employment rate remained stable in Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, while seven member states reported a decline in employment.

Estonia (-0.5 percentage points), Romania (-0.4 percentage points), Poland (-0.4 percentage points) and Lithuania (-0.3 percentage points) were among the countries to report quarter-on-quarter declines.

Employment rate in the EU

As of the first quarter of this year, the employment rate in the European Union (for those aged between 20 and 64 years of age) stood at 76.1%, up marginally (0.1 percentage points) on the previous quarter.

Malta boasted the highest employment rate in the EU in Q1, of 84.3%, followed by the Netherlands (83.4%), Czechia (82.9%) and Sweden (81.9%), Eurostat‘s data showed.

Labour market slack – in other words, all persons who have an unmet need for employment, including unemployed people – totalled 10.9% of the extended EU labour force aged 20-64 in the first quarter. Read more here.

Employment Rate by EU Member State, Q1 2025 (%)