The EU employment rate for people aged 20 to 64 rose to 76.1% in 2025, the highest level recorded since 2009 and 1.9 percentage points below the bloc’s 2030 target of 78.0%.
Almost half of the EU’s regions had already met or exceeded the 2030 employment target in 2025, with 115 out of 244 regions at or above 78.0%, Eurostat reported on Tuesday.
All regions in Czechia, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden had reached the target, as had most regions in Germany, Portugal, Denmark, Hungary and Slovakia.
Six regions recorded employment rates above 85.0% in 2025: Warszawski stołeczny in Poland (86.9%), Praha in Czechia (86.0%), Åland in Finland (85.5%), Utrecht in the Netherlands (85.4%), Oberbayern in Germany (85.1%) and Mellersta Norrland in Sweden (85.0%).
Wide gaps between regions
Around a quarter of EU regions — 64 out of 244 — recorded employment rates below 74.0% in 2025, Eurostat said.
That group included 11 of France’s 27 regions, including all five of its outermost regions, with Mayotte (36.9%) and Guyane (50.0%) recording the lowest employment rates in the EU.
Eleven of Italy’s 21 regions were below 74.0%, mostly in central and southern Italy, with the lowest rates in Calabria (50.3%), Campania (50.8%) and Sicilia (51.4%).
The statistics also showed 11 of Greece’s 13 regions, 11 of Spain’s 19 regions and seven of Romania’s eight regions were below 74.0% in 2025.
Several capital regions were below 74.0% — including Brussels in Belgium, Lazio in Italy, Wien in Austria, Attiki in Greece and Luxembourg.
