Spain continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the European Union, reporting a 11.3% rate in August 2024, according to Eurostat data.
Other countries to report a high seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for August include Greece (9.5%), Sweden (8.2%), Finland (8.2%), Estonia (7.9%) and Lithuania (7.9%).
At the other end of the spectrum, meanwhile, Czechia reported the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union in August 2024, of 2.6%, followed by Poland (2.9%), Malta (3.0%), Slovenia (3.3%) and Germany 3.5%).
European Union unemployment
According to Eurostat, the unemployment rate in the European Union stood at 5.9% in August 2024, down from 6.0% in July 2024, and from 6.0% in August 2023.
In the euro area specifically, the rate was 6.4% in August, stable compared to the previous month and down from 6.6% in August 2023.
Some 13,027 million people in the European Union were unemployed as of August 2024, a decrease of 108,000 on the previous month, and 142,000 on the same month the previous year.
The youth unemployment rate stood at 14.3% in the EU, down slightly from 14.5% in July 2024. In terms of unemployment by gender, the rate for women in the EU remained stable, month on month, at 6.1%, while for men, it decreased to 5.7% from 5.8% in July 2024.
Unemployment rate by EU country, August 2024 (%)
| Country | Unemployment Rate (%) |
|---|---|
| Spain | 11.3 |
| Greece | 9.5 |
| Sweden | 8.3 |
| Finland | 8.2 |
| Estonia | 7.9 |
| Lithuania | 7.9 |
| France | 7.5 |
| Latvia | 7.0 |
| Portugal | 6.4 |
| Italy | 6.2 |
| Luxembourg | 5.9 |
| Denmark | 5.8 |
| Romania | 5.5 |
| Belgium | 5.4 |
| Cyprus | 5.4 |
| Austria | 5.3 |
| Slovakia | 5.3 |
| Croatia | 4.9 |
| Ireland | 4.3 |
| Hungary | 4.3 |
| Bulgaria | 4.0 |
| Netherlands | 3.7 |
| Germany | 3.5 |
| Slovenia | 3.3 |
| Malta | 3.0 |
| Poland | 2.9 |
| Czechia | 2.6 |
