What EU country reported the highest unemployment rate in May 2026?

Finland reported the highest unemployment rate in the European Union in May 2026, at 10.6%, according to new data from Eurostat.

Other EU countries to report a notably high unemployment rate included Spain (10.3%), Sweden (8.7%), France (8.2%) and Greece (8.1%).

At the other end of the scale, the lowest unemployment rates in the euro area were recorded in Bulgaria (2.9%), Czechia (2.9%), Cyprus (3.1%), Poland (3.1%) and Malta (3.5%).

Unemployment rate

The unemployment rate across the euro area remained unchanged at 6.2% in May 2026, while the European Union rate held steady at 5.9%, according to Eurostat.

Compared with May 2025, unemployment fell from 6.3% to 6.2% in the euro area and from 6.0% to 5.9% across the EU.

Eurostat estimated that 13.16 million people were unemployed across the EU in May, including 10.99 million in the euro area.

Compared with April, the number of unemployed people fell by 40,000 across the EU and by 55,000 in the euro area. On an annual basis, unemployment declined by 82,000 in the EU and by 158,000 across the euro area.

Youth unemployment

In terms of youth unemployment, meanwhile, 2.92 million people under the age of 25 were unemployed across the EU in May, including 2.31 million in the euro area.

The youth unemployment rate stood at 15.2% across the EU, up slightly from 15.1% in April, while the euro area rate remained unchanged at 14.7%.

Across the EU, the unemployment rate for women remained unchanged at 6.2%, while the rate for men declined from 5.8% to 5.7%. In the euro area, female unemployment fell from 6.5% to 6.4%, while the male rate declined from 6.1% to 6.0%. Read more here.

Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment – May 2026

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