Spain boasted the highest unemployment rate of all countries in the European Union in July 2024, with a rate of 11.5%, new data from Eurostat has shown.
According to the data, Greece had the second highest unemployment rate in the euro area, at 9.9%, with Sweden (8.6%), Finland (8.5%) and Lithuania (8.0%) also above average.
At the other end of the spectrum, the lowest unemployment rate in July 2024 was recorded in Czechia (2.7%), with Poland (2.9%), Malta (3.0%) and Slovenia (3.3%) also boasting a low unemployment rate.
Unemployment rate in EU
The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the European Union stood at 6.0% in July, the same level as the previous month, and also July 2023.
In the euro area mean while the rate stood at 6.4% in July, down from 6.5% the previous month, and from 6.6% in the corresponding period the previous year.
Eurostat estimates that in July 2024, 13,108 million people in the EU, including 10,990 million in the euro area, were unemployed.
Compared to June 2024, the number of unemployed decreased by 82,000 in the EU and by 114,000 in the euro area. When compared to July 2023, unemployment figures show a decrease of 72,000 in the EU and 190,000 in the euro area.
Some 2,818 million young people under the age of 25 were unemployed in the EU as of July 2024, the data showed, with 2.263 million of them residing in the euro area.
The youth unemployment rate in the EU was 14.5%, a slight decrease from 14.6% in June 2024. In the euro area, the youth unemployment rate was 14.2%, down from 14.4% in the previous month.
Unemployment rate by EU country, July 2024 (%)
| Spain | 11.5% |
| Greece | 9.9% |
| Sweden | 8.6% |
| Finland | 8.5% |
| Lithuania | 8.0% |
| Estonia | 7.5% |
| France | 7.5% |
| Latvia | 6.9% |
| Italy | 6.5% |
| Portugal | 6.2% |
| Denmark | 5.8% |
| Luxembourg | 5.8% |
| Belgium | 5.4% |
| Cyprus | 5.4% |
| Romania | 5.4% |
| Slovakia | 5.3% |
| Croatia | 5.0% |
| Austria | 5.0% |
| Ireland | 4.7% |
| Hungary | 4.3% |
| Bulgaria | 4.0% |
| Netherlands | 3.6% |
| Germany | 3.4% |
| Slovenia | 3.3% |
| Malta | 3.0% |
| Poland | 2.9% |
| Czechia | 2.7% |
