The employment rate for people aged 20 to 64 in the EU edged up to 76.4% in the second quarter of 2026, from 76.3% in the previous quarter.
“Employment rate” refers to the share of people in that age group who are in work, according to Eurostat's release issued on Friday.
A broader measure called labour market slack — covering people with an unmet need for employment, including unemployed people — was 11.0% of the extended labour force aged 20 to 64 in the second quarter, unchanged from the first quarter.
Eurostat’s quarterly figures showed employment rates increased in 14 EU countries, were unchanged in four, and fell in nine.
Portugal and Malta recorded the largest quarter-on-quarter rises, each up 0.6 percentage points, followed by Greece up 0.5 points and Latvia and Slovenia up 0.4 points each.
Where employment rose and fell most
Austria saw the biggest fall at 0.4 percentage points, while Lithuania and Sweden each declined by 0.3 points over the same period.
The figures are based on Eurostat’s Labour Force Survey data for the second quarter of 2026.
