Spain, Finland and Sweden boasted the highest unemployment rates in October 2025

Spain (10.5%), Finland (10.3%) and Sweden (9.3%) reported the highest seasonally-adjusted unemployment rates in the European Union in October 2025, according to Eurostat.

Other countries to report a high unemployment rate for the month included Greece (8.6%), France (7.7%) and Estonia (7.3%).

At the other end of the scale, the unemployment rate stood at just 3.1% in Malta, 3.2% in Poland and Czechia, 3.6% in Bulgaria and 3.8% in Germany.

The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the European Union stood at 6.0% in October, on a par with the previous month, and up from 5.8% the same month the previous year.

In the euro area, the unemployment rate was 6.4%, again stable with the previous month, and up from 6.3% in October 2024.

Unemployed people in the EU

According to Eurostat, there are some 13.35 million unemployed people in the EU, of which 11.03 million reside in the euro area.

On a month-on-month basis, the number of unemployed increased by 32,000 in the EU and decreased by 13,000 in the euro area. Compared to the same month the previous year, meanwhile, unemployment rose by 517,000 in the EU and by 308,000 in the euro area.

In the EU, the unemployment rate for women reached 6.3% in October, up from 6.2% in September. The unemployment rate for men was 5.8%, unchanged from the previous month.

In terms of youth unemployment, meanwhile, some 2.96 million people under the age of 25 were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.352 million were in the euro area. Read more here.

Unemployment Rate by EU Member State – October 2025 (%)

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