Unemployment in Europe - Statistics & Facts
Unemployment has been one of the most consistent social and economic problems in Europe since the 1990s, with the period following the global financial crisis, great recession, and Eurozone crisis in the 2010s marking a historical high-point for joblessness in most European countries. Unemployment is a measure of the number of people who are involuntarily without employment, that is, it measures people actively seeking work and unable to find it. In recent years there has been a turnaround in European unemployment, with the unemployment rate in the European Union hitting an all-time low in 2023 following a brief spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, falling to below six percent in the second quarter of the year.
While unemployment has fallen across Europe during the period following the pandemic, there remain vast differences between the rates in different European countries, with southern European countries such as Greece and Spain still having unemployment of more than 10 percent, while countries in central Europe such as Czechia, Poland, and Germany have rates of less than 3 percent. Youth unemployment and long-term unemployment have been particularly prominent in the countries of western Europe which have experienced de-industrialization since the 1980s, as careers in manufacturing and heavy industries have dried up, while services employment has only partially made up for this.
While unemployment has fallen across Europe during the period following the pandemic, there remain vast differences between the rates in different European countries, with southern European countries such as Greece and Spain still having unemployment of more than 10 percent, while countries in central Europe such as Czechia, Poland, and Germany have rates of less than 3 percent. Youth unemployment and long-term unemployment have been particularly prominent in the countries of western Europe which have experienced de-industrialization since the 1980s, as careers in manufacturing and heavy industries have dried up, while services employment has only partially made up for this.
