In the EU, the employment rate of people aged 20 to 64 stood at 75.5% in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 0.1 percentage points (pp) compared to the third quarter of 2023.
The labor market slack, which encompasses people with unmet employment needs, a large portion of whom includes unemployed individuals, amounted to 11.2% of the extended labor force aged 20 to 64 in the fourth quarter of 2023 (a decrease of 0.1 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2023).
This information comes from the labor market data for the fourth quarter of 2023 released today by Eurostat. This article presents only a handful of findings from the more detailed article of Statistics Explained.
During the third and fourth quarters of 2023, variations in the employment rate were observed in several EU countries. Croatia experienced the largest increase, with a rise of 1.5 percentage points, followed by Greece with an increase of 0.7 percentage points, both among the 11 EU countries where employment increased. In contrast, the employment rate remained stable in France, the Netherlands, and Romania, while it decreased in 10 EU countries, with the largest declines recorded in Luxembourg (-1.0 percentage points) and Lithuania (-0.6 percentage points).
Data extracted from the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat).