In the first quarter of 2026, the employment rate of people aged 20-64 in the EU stood at 76.3%, up from 76.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Labour market slack – all persons who have an unmet need for employment, including unemployed people – stood at 10.9% of the extended labour force aged 20-64 in the first quarter of 2026, down from 11.0% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

This information comes from data on the labour market in the first quarter of 2026, published today by Eurostat. This article presents only a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article.

Labour market slack and employment rate in the EU, Q1 2013 to Q1 2026 (age group 20-64, seasonally adjusted data). Chart. See link to the full dataset below.

 Source datasets: lfsi_emp_q and lfsi_sla_q

Between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, Italy (+0.5 percentage points (pp)), as well as Belgium, Cyprus, Lithuania, Slovakia and Sweden (+0.4 pp each), registered the highest increases in the employment rate among the 11 EU countries where employment rose. The employment rate remained stable in 6 EU countries and decreased in another 10 EU countries, with the biggest decreases recorded in Latvia (-0.8 pp), Ireland (-0.7 pp), as well as in Slovenia and Finland (-0.3 pp each).

Change in employment rate, Q1 2026 compared with Q4 2025 (age group 20-64, in percentage points, seasonally adjusted data). Chart. See link to the full dataset below.

 Source dataset: lfsi_emp_q