Brussels has recorded the highest rates in Northern Europe for people unemployed for a period of at least 12 months.
New Eurostat figures for 2024 show that 4.2 million people across the EU were currently facing long-term unemployment issues. However, it also found that 52 EU regions reported long-term unemployment below 1.0%.
The long-term unemployment rate is defined as the share of the labour force (aged 15 to 74) that have been out of work for 12 months or more. The latest shows it stood at 1.9 % across the EU. That means around 1 in 3 unemployed people have been jobless for a long time.
Some of the worst rates were found in southern EU countries and in several of France's outermost regions. Ciudad de Melilla posted the highest figure at 16.3%, followed by Ciudad de Ceuta at 15.8%.
The lowest rate in the EU, 0.4%, was observed in 4 regions: the neighbouring Czech regions of Praha and Střední Čechy, and Utrecht and Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands.
A clear divide
Belgium showed a clear divide. Flanders recorded 0.8%, with all its provinces reporting some of the lowest long-term jobless rates in the EU.
Wallonia posted higher figures (3.2%) than Flanders, although it remained well below the levels seen in many parts of southern Europe.
Brussels, on the other hand, posted 5.8%, the highest in Northern Europe.
Despite regional disparities, Belgium's overall position remains strong when compared with the EU average.
The contrast between its northern and southern regions mirrors a wider EU trend, with Flanders aligning more closely with high-performing labour markets in the Netherlands, Czechia and Denmark.
