Overview
In September 2024, the euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 6.3%, stable compared with August 2024 and down from 6.6% in September 2023. The EU unemployment rate was 5.9% in September 2024, also stable compared with August 2024 and down from 6.1% in September 2023. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Eurostat estimates that 13.042 million persons in the EU, of whom 10.884 million in the euro area, were unemployed in September 2024.
Compared with August 2024, unemployment increased by 61 thousand in the EU and by 13 thousand in the euro area.
Compared with September 2023, unemployment decreased by 226 thousand in the EU and by 330 thousand in the euro area.
Youth unemployment
In September 2024, 2.861 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.287 million were in the euro area. In September 2024, the youth unemployment rate was 14.8% in the EU, up from 14.5% in August 2024, and 14.4% in the euro area, up from 14.3% in the previous month.
Compared with August 2024, youth unemployment increased by 44Â thousand in the EU and by 10 thousand in the euro area.
Compared with September 2023, youth unemployment decreased by 16 thousand in the EU and by 68 thousand in the euro area.
  
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Unemployment by sex
In September 2024, the unemployment rate for women was 6.1% in the EU, stable compared with the previous month, and the unemployment rate for men was 5.8%, up from 5.7% in August 2024. In the euro area, the unemployment rate for women was 6.5%, stable compared with the previous month, and the unemployment rate for men was 6.1%, also stable compared with August 2024.
Additional labour market indicators
The estimates in this News Release are based on the globally used International Labour Organisation (ILO) standard definition of unemployment, which counts as unemployed people without a job who have been actively seeking work in the last four weeks and are available to start work within the next two weeks.
To capture in full the labour market situation, the data on unemployment have been complemented by additional indicators, e.g. underemployed part-time workers, persons seeking work but not immediately available and persons available to work but not seeking, released together with LFS data for the second quarter of 2024.
LFS data for the third quarter of 2024 will be released on 13 December 2024.
Tables
Seasonally adjusted unemployment, totals
Rates (%)
Number of persons (in thousands)
2023
2024
2023
2024
Sep
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Sep
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
6.6
6.4
6.4
6.3
6.3
11 214
11 081
10 972
10 871
10 884
6.1
6.0
6.0
5.9
5.9
13 268
13 169
13 094
12 981
13 042
5.4
5.5
5.4
5.4
5.5
287
293
289
288
294
4.4
4.0
4.0
4.0
4.0
135
122
123
123
122
2.6
2.7
2.7
2.7
2.8
136
139
139
140
145
4.7
6.2
5.9
5.9
6.4
149
202
193
193
211
3.1
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.5
1 361
1 555
1 560
1 556
1 547
6.7
7.4
7.8
7.6
7.6
49
56
59
58
58
4.5
4.5
4.7
4.4
4.3
127
128
136
125
124
10.7
9.4
9.8
9.5
9.3
504
443
457
445
438
12.0
11.5
11.4
11.3
11.2
2 910
2 816
2 797
2 762
2 744
7.4
7.5
7.5
7.5
7.6
2 276
2 349
2 346
2 350
2 379
6.0
5.0
5.0
4.9
4.8
104
88
87
86
84
7.7
6.8
6.3
6.1
6.1
1 975
1 731
1 612
1 567
1 552
5.6
5.1
5.3
5.3
5.0
28
26
27
27
26
6.6
6.9
6.9
7.0
6.9
63
65
65
66
65
7.2
7.2
8.0
7.9
7.9
111
115
124
127
123
5.5
5.8
5.8
5.9
5.9
19
20
20
20
20
4.1
4.3
4.4
4.4
4.5
203
212
215
217
220
3.6
3.0
2.9
3.0
3.0
11
10
9
10
10
3.7
3.6
3.6
3.7
3.7
371
370
370
374
377
5.3
5.2
5.1
5.3
5.6
251
248
239
252
267
2.9
2.9
2.9
2.9
2.9
510
509
507
511
513
6.6
6.5
6.5
6.4
6.4
356
349
349
346
352
5.6
5.1
5.4
5.5
5.5
455
431
451
452
451
3.7
3.5
3.4
3.3
3.4
38
36
34
34
35
5.8
5.3
5.3
5.3
5.2
159
147
147
146
145
7.4
8.4
8.4
8.4
8.4
211
239
239
239
238
7.9
8.4
8.4
8.5
8.5
450
481
483
485
487
3.6
3.1
3.1
:
:
8
8
7
:
:
3.6
4.0
4.0
4.0
4.0
108
120
120
120
120
4.2
4.2
:
:
:
212
215
:
:
:
3.8
4.1
4.3
4.2
4.1
6 279
6 807
7 104
7 070
6 785
Seasonally adjusted youth (under 25s) unemployment
Rates (%)
Number of persons (in thousands)
2023
2024
2023
2024
Sep
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Sept
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
14.8
14.5
14.4
14.3
14.4
2 355
2 306
2 294
2 277
2 287
14.8
14.7
14.7
14.5
14.8
2 877
2 853
2 853
2 817
2 861
17.5
16.7
16.5
16.5
16.5
75
70
63
63
63
13.6
11.8
11.9
11.4
11.1
16
14
14
13
13
8.1
10.6
11.1
11.1
12.7
22
30
35
33
35
12.2
14.8
13.6
15.1
15.3
56
76
67
75
79
5.8
6.9
6.9
6.9
6.9
261
319
319
318
316
19.9
23.0
21.8
20.4
20.8
12
14
14
12
13
11.6
10.2
11.6
10.7
10.8
42
37
42
39
40
23.1
22.1
19.7
19.4
16.3
63
54
48
50
36
28.4
26.5
26.7
26.5
26.5
494
477
487
485
488
17.7
17.7
17.4
17.3
17.7
599
599
589
587
604
18.6
16.7
16.3
16.3
16.3
23
21
20
20
20
22.9
20.5
19.8
18.1
18.3
347
298
290
262
266
16.8
15.4
15.9
15.9
15.9
6
5
5
5
5
13.4
17.3
16.3
16.4
16.6
9
11
10
10
10
15.6
21.4
19.0
20.5
19.8
15
23
20
22
21
19.8
20.3
20.3
20.3
20.3
5
5
5
5
5
13.0
14.6
15.7
16.2
17.2
40
46
49
51
54
8.7
8.7
8.6
9.0
9.4
3
2
2
2
3
8.8
8.6
8.6
8.9
9.0
160
157
156
159
161
11.4
9.6
9.9
13.2
10.0
61
50
51
70
53
11.0
10.1
10.1
10.2
10.1
124
110
109
110
108
22.0
21.0
20.8
20.1
21.6
84
76
75
74
81
21.3
23.2
:
:
:
102
114
:
:
:
11.5
10.1
11.5
11.5
11.5
8
7
7
7
7
20.6
21.1
21.1
21.0
21.4
29
30
30
30
30
17.0
18.0
18.1
18.2
18.4
55
59
59
59
60
22.2
24.4
24.4
24.6
24.7
151
167
167
168
169
8.6
8.6
8.6
:
:
3
3
3
:
:
10.4
12.0
11.6
11.3
12.4
45
54
50
49
53
8.6
6.8
:
:
:
51
41
:
:
:
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates (%), by sex
Males
Females
2023
2024
2023
2024
Sep
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Sep
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
6.2
6.2
6.2
6.1
6.1
6.9
6.7
6.6
6.5
6.5
5.8
5.8
5.8
5.7
5.8
6.4
6.2
6.1
6.1
6.1
5.7
5.8
5.8
5.8
5.9
5.1
5.1
5.0
4.9
5.1
4.6
4.2
4.3
4.3
4.4
4.3
3.8
3.8
3.7
3.6
2.3
2.4
2.4
2.2
2.4
3.1
3.1
3.1
3.3
3.3
4.5
5.6
5.2
5.5
5.9
4.9
6.9
6.6
6.3
7.1
3.3
3.8
3.8
3.8
3.8
2.8
3.2
3.2
3.2
3.1
6.2
7.4
7.8
7.5
7.5
7.1
7.4
7.7
7.7
7.7
4.6
4.5
4.7
4.4
4.3
4.5
4.4
4.7
4.4
4.3
8.6
7.6
7.8
7.7
7.6
13.4
11.6
12.2
11.7
11.4
10.5
10.3
10.3
10.2
10.2
13.7
12.9
12.7
12.5
12.4
7.5
7.5
7.4
7.5
7.5
7.3
7.6
7.5
7.6
7.7
5.5
4.8
4.8
4.7
4.7
6.6
5.3
5.2
5.1
5.0
6.8
6.1
6.1
5.8
5.7
8.9
7.6
6.6
6.6
6.6
5.8
4.5
4.6
4.5
4.5
5.4
5.7
6.0
6.1
5.6
7.7
8.0
8.3
8.6
8.5
5.5
5.7
5.4
5.3
5.1
7.8
8.3
8.4
8.3
8.3
6.6
6.0
7.6
7.5
7.5
5.3
5.9
5.9
5.9
5.9
5.8
5.7
5.7
5.8
5.8
4.1
4.4
4.4
4.5
4.5
4.1
4.3
4.3
4.3
4.4
3.8
3.4
3.2
3.2
3.3
3.3
2.6
2.5
2.7
2.6
3.6
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.8
3.8
3.8
3.9
3.9
5.7
5.7
5.8
6.0
6.1
4.9
4.7
4.3
4.6
5.1
2.8
2.9
2.9
2.9
2.8
2.9
2.8
2.8
2.9
3.0
6.3
6.2
6.3
6.1
6.2
6.9
6.7
6.7
6.6
6.7
6.0
5.5
5.7
5.8
5.7
5.1
4.6
5.1
5.1
5.2
3.5
3.5
3.3
3.3
3.5
4.0
3.5
3.4
3.3
3.4
5.6
4.8
4.7
4.7
4.7
5.9
5.9
6.0
6.0
5.9
8.1
9.5
9.5
9.4
9.3
6.7
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.4
7.7
8.4
8.4
8.3
8.3
8.1
8.5
8.5
8.6
8.7
4.0
3.6
3.5
:
:
3.1
2.6
2.6
:
:
3.6
4.3
4.1
4.3
4.4
3.3
3.8
3.6
3.7
3.7
4.0
4.0
:
:
:
4.4
4.5
:
:
:
Notes for users
Revisions and timetable
The data in this News Release can be subject to revisions, caused by updates to the seasonally adjusted series whenever new monthly data are added; the inclusion of the most recent LFS data in the calculation process; update of seasonal adjustment models with complete annual data.
Compared with the rates published in News Release of 2 October 2024, the August 2024 unemployment rate for the euro area was revised from 6.4% to 6.3%, while the unemployment rate for the EU remained unchanged. Among EU Member States, the rate has been revised by more than 0.1 percentage points (pp) downwards for Estonia (by 0.3 pp). The rate has not been revised by more than 0.1 percentage points (pp) upwards for any Member States.
Country notes
Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden as well as Iceland and Norway: the trend component is used instead of the more volatile seasonally adjusted data.
Estonia and Portugal: 3-month moving averages of LFS data are used instead of pure monthly indicators.
Methods and definitions
Eurostat publishes harmonised unemployment rates for individual EU Member States, the euro area and the EU. These unemployment rates are based on the definition recommended by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The measurement is based on a harmonised data source, the European Union Labour Force Survey (LFS).
Based on the ILO definition, Eurostat defines unemployed persons as persons aged 15 to 74 who:
The unemployment rate is the number of people unemployed as a percentage of the labour force.
The labour force is the total number of people employed plus unemployed. In this news release unemployment rates are based on employment and unemployment data covering persons aged 15 to 74.
The youth unemployment rate is the number of people aged 15 to 24 unemployed as a percentage of the labour force of the same age. Therefore, the youth unemployment rate should not be interpreted as the share of jobless people in the overall youth population.
When data for the most recent month are not available for a Member State, EU and EA aggregates are calculated using the latest data available for that Member State.
Geographical information
Euro area (EA20): Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.
European Union (EU27): Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.
For more information