Brussels – Slight rise in employment in Europe: In the second quarter of 2026, the employment rate for people aged between 20 and 64 in the EU stood at 76.4 per cent, up from 76.3 per cent in the first quarter of the year, according to data released by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office.
Labour market slack, all persons with an unmet need for employment, including unemployed persons, stood at 11 per cent of the extended labour force aged 20–64 in the second quarter, unchanged from the first.
Between the first and second quarters of 2026, Portugal and Malta (up 0.6 percentage points each), Greece (+0.5 percentage points) and Latvia and Slovenia (each +0.4 percentage points) recorded the largest increases in the employment rate amongst the 14 EU countries where employment rose. Italy saw a 0.2 percentage point rise, alongside Croatia, Spain and Estonia, in the second quarter compared with the first. The employment rate remained stable in four EU countries and fell in nine; the sharpest falls were recorded in Austria (-0.4 percentage points) and in Lithuania and Sweden (-0.3 percentage points, each).
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
