EU Employment Rate Rises, Labour Market Slack Declines in Q2 2024

In the second quarter of 2024, the employment rate for individuals aged 20-64 across the European Union reached 75.8%, marking a 0.2 percentage point increase from the previous quarter. At the same time, labour market slack, which includes unemployed persons and others with unmet employment needs, fell slightly to 11.0% of the extended labour force in the same age group, down 0.1 percentage points compared to the first quarter.

The data, published by Eurostat, also revealed that Estonia (+1.0 pp), Lithuania (+0.9 pp), and Czechia (+0.8 pp) saw the most significant employment rate increases among the 18 EU countries where employment rose. However, six EU countries experienced declines, with the sharpest drops in Slovenia (-0.7 pp) and Finland (-0.4 pp). Meanwhile, Italy, Poland, and Slovakia reported no changes in their employment rates.