BRUSSELS, 21st April, 2025 (WAM) – Employment in the European Union (EU) reached its highest level on record in the fourth quarter of 2024, while the unemployment rate fell to its lowest since 2000 in February 2025, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Eight EU member states posted all-time high employment rates during this period, dating back to the OECD’s first published data in 2005.
The EU’s employment rate reached 70.9 percent in the final quarter of 2024. Among the 24 EU countries included in the dataset, employment rates ranged from 62.2 percent in Italy to 82.3 percent in the Netherlands.
Of Europe’s five largest economies, Germany recorded the highest employment rate at 77.6 percent, followed by the United Kingdom at 75 percent.
France’s employment rate stood at 68.9 percent, slightly below the averages for both the EU and the OECD. Spain (66.3 percent) and Italy (62.2 percent) were among the bottom four performers, along with Greece and Türkiye.
Eight EU countries, as well as Türkiye, posted record-high employment levels in Q4 2024, contributing to the EU-wide peak. The figures refer to individuals aged 15 to 64 and are seasonally adjusted.
Germany, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Slovakia, Belgium, Spain, Greece and Türkiye were among the countries that reached record highs, though some increases were marginal.
The Netherlands remained the only country to consistently surpass the 80 percent employment mark since 2005.
According to the OECD, the EU’s unemployment rate fell to 5.7 percent in February 2025 – the lowest since January 2000. This metric also covers individuals aged 15 to 64 and is seasonally adjusted.
Among the 24 EU countries in the dataset, unemployment ranged from 2.6 percent in Poland to 10.4 percent in Spain, the only nation with a double-digit rate.
Finland (9.2 percent) and Sweden (8.9 percent) followed Spain with the next highest unemployment rates.
Germany recorded the fourth-lowest unemployment rate overall at 3.5 percent, making it the best performer among Europe’s five largest economies, followed by the UK at 4.4 percent (based on January 2025 data).