Some 3.1 million unemployed people aged 15 to 74 in the EU moved into work between the first and second quarters of 2026.
That shift represented 23.2% of all unemployed people in the first quarter, Eurostat reported on Friday.
Over the same period, 7.0 million people — 52.8% — stayed unemployed, while 3.2 million — 24.0% — moved out of the labour force.
Eurostat defines people “out of the labour force” as those who are neither in work nor unemployed, such as students, retirees and others not looking for a job.
Flows from work and inactivity
Among those who were in employment in the first quarter of 2026, 2.5 million people — 1.2% — became unemployed in the second quarter, Eurostat reported.
A further 4.8 million workers — 2.3% — moved out of the labour force over the same period.
Of people who were out of the labour force in the first quarter, 4.2 million — 3.7% — entered employment in the second quarter, while 3.9 million — 3.4% — became unemployed.
