Euronews reports Europe's labor market stabilizing from late 2024

At the end of last year, employment in Europe hit its highest level, and more recently the region's unemployment rate hit the lowest one. Euronews Business analyzes the situation in the EU labor market based on the latest data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

During the final quarter of 2024, the average employment rate in Europe amounted to almost 71%. The best result was recorded in the Netherlands (82.3%), while Italy was the weakest (62.2%). When including EU candidate countries, Iceland posted the highest employment rate (85.6%), whereas Turkey recorded the lowest (55.2%).

In February 2025, the region's unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since 2000, Euronews noted. However, in some EU countries it remains above average. The top three countries with the highest number of jobless citizens were Spain, Finland, and Sweden. They recorded unemployment rates of around 9% and above, according to Euronews.