Euro area unemployment rate remains stable at 6.2% in January 2025

The euro area’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 6.2% in January 2025, unchanged from December 2024 and down from 6.5% in January 2024, according to Eurostat. The EU unemployment rate was 5.8%, also stable from the previous month and down from 6.1% a year earlier.

Eurostat estimates that 12.824 million people in the EU, including 10.655 million in the euro area, were unemployed in January. Compared with December 2024, unemployment fell by 8,000 in the EU and by 42,000 in the euro area. Year-on-year, 510,000 fewer people were unemployed in the EU, while the euro area saw a drop of 547,000.

In January 2025, 2.856 million young people under 25 were unemployed in the EU, including 2.263 million in the euro area. The youth unemployment rate was 14.6% in the EU, stable from December, and 14.1% in the euro area, slightly down from 14.2%. Compared with December, youth unemployment increased by 17,000 in the EU and by 3,000 in the euro area. However, compared with January 2024, there were 36,000 fewer unemployed young people in the EU and 93,000 fewer in the euro area.

The EU unemployment rate for women stood at 6.0%, unchanged from December 2024, while the rate for men was 5.6%, also stable. In the euro area, the unemployment rate for women was 6.4% and for men 6.0%, both unchanged from the previous month.

These estimates follow the International Labour Organisation definition of unemployment, which includes individuals without a job, actively seeking work in the last four weeks, and available to start within two weeks. To provide a broader picture, Eurostat also tracks underemployed part-time workers, individuals seeking work but not immediately available, and those available to work but not actively seeking. Additional data for the fourth quarter of 2024 will be released on 14 March 2025.