In 2023, the EU employment rate stood at 75.3%, 0.7 percentage points (pp) higher than in 2022. This is the highest level in the entire available time series.
Among EU regions at level 2 of the Nomenclature of Territorial Statistical Units (NUTS 2), the Polish capital region, Warszawski stołeczny, had the highest employment rate last year (86.5%). The second highest rate was recorded in Bratislavský kraj in Slovakia (85.8%), while the third highest rate was observed in the German region of Trier (85.4%).
By contrast, in three regions of southern Italy, less than half of the working-age population was employed: Calabria (48.4%), Campania (48.4%) and Sicily (48.7%).
The largest regional disparities in Italy
In 2023, Italy recorded the largest regional disparities, with a coefficient of variation of 16.3%, ahead of Belgium (8.5%) and Romania (7.7%). The lowest regional disparities in employment rates, with a coefficient of variation of 2.0% or less, were recorded in Portugal, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands.
All Eastern and Baltic countries with multiple regions, as well as Denmark, Ireland, Spain and Sweden, reported that their highest employment rate was in their capital region. By contrast, Belgium, Germany and Austria recorded some of their lowest employment rates in the capital regions.
More information at EUROSTAT
