The unemployment rate is the number of people without a job who are actively looking, as a percentage of the labour force (those working or looking, aged 15-74). We show both the annual average and the more timely monthly series.
How to read it
Low single digits generally indicate a healthy labour market; double digits signal serious slack and hardship.
It is a lagging indicator — it tends to keep rising for a while after a downturn ends.
It excludes people who have given up looking, so it can understate weakness.
Wide divergence
Unemployment varies enormously across the EU, and youth unemployment in particular has run very high in parts of southern Europe. The monthly series is the best early read on the labour market between annual updates.
Source: Eurostat labour force survey (annual and monthly).