In the fourth quarter of 2025, the employment rate of people aged 20-64 in the EU stood at 76.3%, up from 76.2% in the third quarter of 2025, Eurostat said on its website on March 13.
Between the third and the fourth quarter of 2025, Cyprus (+0.6 percentage points (pp), as well as Austria, Latvia, Greece and Spain (+0.4 pp each) registered the highest increases in the employment rate among the 11 EU countries where employment rose. Bulgaria also reported an increase (+0.1 pp).
The employment rate remained stable in five EU countries and decreased in another 11 EU countries, with the biggest decreases recorded in Luxembourg (-1.1 pp), Denmark and Estonia (-0.6 pp each), as well as in Malta (-0.5 pp).
Labour market slack - all persons who have an unmet need for employment, including unemployed people - stood at 11.0% of the extended labour force aged 20-64 in the fourth quarter of 2025, stable compared with the third quarter of 2025.