Malta boasted the highest employment rate among people aged 20 to 64 in the third quarter of 2024, with a rate of 83.7%, well above the EU average of 75.9%.
Malta also saw the biggest month-on-month increase in employment rate in the bloc, with employment rising by 1.4 percentage points between Q2 and Q3.
Other countries to report an above average employment rate for the quarter included the Netherlands (83.6%), Czechia (82.4%), Sweden (81.8%), Estonia (81.7%), Germany (81.2%) and Hungary (81.0%).
At the other end of the scale, Italy boasted an employment rate of 67.4% for those aged between 20 and 64, followed by Greece (69.0%), Romania (69.8%) and Spain (71.4%).
Employment rate
In the third quarter, the employment rate for people aged 20-64 in the EU increased to 75.9%, up by 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous quarter.
At the same time, labour market slack, which includes people with unmet employment needs, such as the unemployed, decreased to 10.9% of the extended labour force, a drop of 0.1 percentage points from the previous quarter.
Other countries to see a notable quarter-on-quarter increase in employment rate included Romania (up 0.6 percentage points) and Ireland, Italy, and Cyprus (each of which rose by 0.5 percentage points). Luxembourg (-1.0 percentage points), Slovenia (-0.9 percentage points), and Estonia (-0.7 percentage points) all saw declines, meanwhile. Read more here.
Employment rate for those aged 20-64, by EU member state (Q3 2024, %)
| Country | Employment Rate (%) |
|---|---|
| Malta | 83.7 |
| Netherlands | 83.6 |
| Czechia | 82.4 |
| Sweden | 81.8 |
| Estonia | 81.7 |
| Germany | 81.2 |
| Hungary | 81.0 |
| Ireland | 80.3 |
| Denmark | 80.1 |
| Cyprus | 80.1 |
| Lithuania | 79.1 |
| Portugal | 78.6 |
| Poland | 78.5 |
| Slovakia | 78.0 |
| Latvia | 77.6 |
| Slovenia | 77.5 |
| Austria | 77.2 |
| Finland | 76.8 |
| Bulgaria | 76.7 |
| France | 75.3 |
| Croatia | 73.7 |
| Luxembourg | 73.5 |
| Belgium | 72.3 |
| Spain | 71.4 |
| Romania | 69.8 |
| Greece | 69.0 |
| Italy | 67.4 |
