EU unemployment rate in 2025: 6.0%
In 2025, the unemployment rate in the EU was 6.0% for people aged 15-74 in the labour force, up slightly from 5.9% in 2024.
Among EU countries, Spain had the highest unemployment rate at 10.5%, followed by Finland (9.7%) and Greece (8.9%). The lowest rates were in Czechia (2.8%), Poland and Malta (both 3.1%).
Source dataset: une_rt_a
People with lower education have higher unemployment rates
People with low level of education experienced higher unemployment rates across the EU. In 2025, the unemployment rate of people aged 25 to 74 with low educational attainment stood at 10.5%, compared with 4.7% for those with medium educational attainment and 3.6% for those with high education.
The highest unemployment rates for people with low education were in Slovakia (38.8%), Sweden (20.0%) and Finland (18.8%). These countries also showed the largest gaps in unemployment rates between people with low and high educational attainment. The gap was 36.7 percentage points in Slovakia (38.8% for people with low educational attainment, compared with 2.1% for those with high educational attainment), 14.9 percentage points in Sweden (20.0% vs 5.1%), and 13.9 percentage points in Finland (18.8% vs 4.9%).
Source dataset: une_educ_a
For more information
- Statistics Explained article on unemployment statistics and beyond
- Thematic section on employment and unemployment
- Database on employment and unemployment
- Monthly unemployment rate visualisation
- Webinar on unemployment statistics
- Webinar on young people on the EU labour market
Methodological notes
- All figures come from the European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS).
- The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force.
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Educational attainment levels follow the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED).
- Low educational attainment: ISCED levels 0-2, covering all education up to lower secondary education.
- Medium educational attainment: ISCED levels 3-4, corresponding to upper secondary education and post-secondary non-tertiary education
- High educational attainment: ISCED levels 5-8, from short-cycle tertiary education up to doctoral-level education.
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