Malta boasted the highest employment rate in the European Union in the fourth quarter of 2024, with 84.1% of all people aged between 20 and 64 employed.
Other countries to report an above-average employment rate for the period included the Netherlands (83.4%), Czechia (82.4%), Estonia (81.6%), Germany (81.5%) and Sweden (81.5%), the Eurostat data showed.
Average employment rate
On average, the employment rate for people aged 20 to 64 in the fourth quarter of 2024 stood at 75.9%, on a par with the previous quarter.
Countries to report a below-average employment rate included Italy (67.1%), Romania (69.4%), Greece (70.1%), Spain (71.7%), Belgium (72.6%), Croatia (73.7%) and Luxembourg (74.5%).
The employment rate increased in 15 EU countries between the third and fourth quarters, the data showed, with Greece and Luxembourg recording the highest increases (+0.8 percentage points).
The largest quarter-on-quarter decrease was reported in Ireland (-0.6 percentage points), meanwhile.
Labour market slack, which includes unemployed individuals and those with an unmet need for employment, accounted for 10.8% of the extended labour force in the 20-64 age group. Read more here.
Employment Rate by EU Member State, Q4 2024 (%)
| Country | Employment Rate (%) |
|---|---|
| Malta | 84.1 |
| Netherlands | 83.4 |
| Czechia | 82.4 |
| Estonia | 81.6 |
| Germany | 81.5 |
| Sweden | 81.5 |
| Hungary | 81.0 |
| Cyprus | 80.1 |
| Denmark | 80.0 |
| Lithuania | 79.7 |
| Ireland | 79.6 |
| Poland | 78.6 |
| Portugal | 78.6 |
| Slovakia | 78.2 |
| Slovenia | 78.1 |
| Austria | 77.3 |
| Latvia | 77.1 |
| Bulgaria | 76.8 |
| Finland | 76.4 |
| France | 75.1 |
| Luxembourg | 74.5 |
| Croatia | 73.7 |
| Belgium | 72.6 |
| Spain | 71.7 |
| Greece | 70.1 |
| Romania | 69.4 |
| Italy | 67.1 |
