Brussels: In the first quarter of 2026, the employment rate of people aged 20-64 in the EU stood at 76.3%, up from 76.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to figures published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
According to Emirates News Agency, labour market slack, which includes all individuals with an unmet need for employment such as unemployed people, stood at 10.9% of the extended labour force aged 20-64 in the first quarter of 2026. This marks a decrease from 11.0% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, Italy saw a notable increase in employment rate by 0.5 percentage points, followed by Belgium, Cyprus, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Sweden, each with a 0.4 percentage point rise. Among the 11 EU countries where employment rose, these countries registered the highest increases. The employment rate remained stable in six EU countries and decreased in another ten, with Latvia experiencing the largest decrease at -0.8 percentage points, followed closely by Ireland at -0.7 percentage points, and Slovenia and Finland each at -0.3 percentage points.
Throughout this period, 3 million unemployed individuals aged 15-74 in the EU secured jobs, representing 22.9% of all unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, 7.1 million individuals, or 53.2%, remained unemployed, and 3.2 million, or 23.9%, transitioned out of the labour force.
From those employed in the fourth quarter of 2025, 2.5 million, or 1.2%, became unemployed in the first quarter of 2026, and 4.4 million, or 2.1%, transitioned out of the labour force. Among those initially out of the labour force in the fourth quarter of 2025, 4.2 million, or 3.7%, entered employment in the first quarter of 2026, while 3.8 million, or 3.3%, moved into unemployment.