Finland reported the highest unemployment rate in the European Union in January 2026, of 10.0%, new data from Eurostat has found.
Other countries to report a high unemployment rate for the month included Spain (9.8%), Sweden (8.0%), Greece (7.7%), France (7.7%) and Denmark (7.5%).
At the other end of the scale, the unemployment estate stood at just 3.1% in Bulgaria and Poland, and 3.2% in Czechia.
Unemployment in the EU
At EU level, the unemployment rate stood at 5.8% in January 2026, down from 5.9% the previous month and from 6.0% in January 2025.
In the euro area specifically, the rate was 6.1%, down from 6.2% in December 2025 and from 6.3% in January 2025.
Eurostat estimates that 10.77 million people in the euro area (a decreased of 273,000 on an year-on-year basis) and 12.93 million across the EU (a decrease of 274,000) were unemployed in January 2026.
In terms of youth unemployment (those aged under 25), meanwhile, some 2.35 million young people were unemployed in the euro area (a youth unemployment rate of 14.8%), while 2.92 million were unemployed across the EU (a youth unemployment rate of 15.1%), the data showed.
Slightly more women (6.0%) than men (5.7%) were unemployed across the EU in January, while in the euro area, the rates were 6.3% for women and 6.0% for men. Read more here.
Unemployment Rate by EU Member State, January 2026 (%)
| Country | Unemployment Rate (%) |
|---|---|
| Belgium | 6.4 |
| Bulgaria | 3.1 |
| Czechia | 3.2 |
| Denmark | 7.5 |
| Germany | 4.0 |
| Estonia | 6.3 |
| Ireland | 4.7 |
| Greece | 7.7 |
| Spain | 9.8 |
| France | 7.7 |
| Croatia | 4.5 |
| Italy | 5.1 |
| Cyprus | 4.2 |
| Latvia | 6.9 |
| Lithuania | 6.4 |
| Luxembourg | 6.9 |
| Hungary | 4.5 |
| Malta | 3.4 |
| Netherlands | 4.0 |
| Austria | 5.6 |
| Poland | 3.1 |
| Portugal | 5.6 |
| Romania | 6.0 |
| Slovenia | 3.9 |
| Slovakia | 5.6 |
| Finland | 10.0 |
| Sweden | 8.0 |
