The latest Eurostat data shows that in the first quarter of 2025, the highest employment growth in the EU compared to the previous quarter was recorded in Ireland (+0.9 percentage points) and Italy (+0.7 percentage points).
According to Eurostat’s preliminary estimate, employment in the eurozone rose by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter, reaching 171.79 million people. This acceleration compared to the 0.1% growth in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the exceeding of market expectations (0.1%) confirm the continued strengthening of the region’s labour market. Thus, the current quarter marks the sixteenth consecutive period of employment growth.
On an annual basis, employment increased by 0.8%, reflecting the sustained recovery of the economy and growth in business activity. Employment also increased across the European Union as a whole, but at a more moderate pace of 0.2% quarter-on-quarter.
Growth in the number of employed persons was recorded in a number of countries: Spain +0.8%, Czech Republic +0.5%, Finland +0.4%, Sweden +0.3%, Luxembourg +0.1%.
In the first quarter, the unemployment rate, i.e. the share of all persons with an unsatisfied demand for employment, including the unemployed, stood at 10.9% of the EU’s extended labour force aged 20 to 64.
