Eurozone April unemployment unchanged at 6.3 per cent

Brussels – In April, the unemployment rate in the eurozone stood at 6.3 per cent, unchanged from March 2026 and April 2025. Across the European Union, it stood at 6 per cent, also unchanged from March 2026 and April 2025. Among these, Italy recorded a rate of 5.1 per cent, a slight decrease from 5.2 per cent in March 2026 and down by one percentage point compared to April 2025 (6.1 per cent).

According to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, there were 13,238 million unemployed people in the EU in April, of whom 11.075 million were in the eurozone. Compared with the previous month, there were around 137,000 fewer unemployed people in the EU and 84,000 fewer in the euro area. However, there was an increase of 82,000 in the EU and 45,000 in the euro area compared with April 2025. 

As regards youth unemployment, in April there were 2.913 million people under 25 out of work in the EU, of whom 2.337 million were in the eurozone. The figures show that the EU youth unemployment rate reached 15.1 per cent, down from the previous month (15.6 per cent). In the countries that have adopted the euro, however, the rate was slightly lower: 14.7 per cent in April and 15.1 per cent in March. Here too, Italy recorded a fall, with 16.9 per cent in April, compared to 17.7 per cent in March and 20.3 per cent in April 2025. Eurostat highlights that over the course of one month, namely from March to April 2026, youth unemployment fell by 91,000 in the EU and by 50,000 in the euro area. Conversely, compared with the previous year, youth unemployment rose by 22,000 in the EU and by 13,000 in the euro area. 

Female unemployment also fell, albeit slightly, to 6.2 per cent in April from 6.3 per cent in March. Conversely, the male unemployment rate remained stable at 5.8 per cent in both months. In the eurozone, female unemployment fell slightly over the month to 6.5 per cent from 6.6 per cent in March. The male unemployment rate stood at 6 per cent, down from 6.1 per cent in March 2026. In Italy, male unemployment stayed flat at 4.7 per cent over the past two months, while the female rate edged down from 5.8 to 5.7 per cent.