Eurostat: New lows for EU unemployment in 2024

In 2024, the unemployment rate for 15-74 years old in the European Union fell to 5.9 per cent of the labour force, marking a historic low since the beginning of the time series in 2009, EU statistics agency Eurostat said on May 23.

The long-term unemployment rate, as a percentage of the labour force, was 1.9 per cent in 2024. This was similarly the lowest level in the entire available time series, Eurostat said,.

Among the EU countries, Greece recorded the highest long-term unemployment rate, at 5.4 per cent, followed by Spain (3.8 per cent) and Slovakia (3.5 per cent). By contrast, the Netherlands (0.5 per cent), Malta (0.7 per cent), and Czechia, Denmark and Poland (all at 0.8 per cent) had the lowest rates.

In Bulgaria, long-term unemployment in 2024 was 2.2 per cent, down from 2.3 per cent in 2023, was the same 2.2 per cent figure as in 2022, and down from 2.6 per cent in 2021 and 2.8 per cent in 2020.

Regarding young people aged 15 to 24 years, the unemployment rate in the EU was 14.9 per cent, up 0.4 percentage points (pp) compared with 2023. 

For other age groups, the unemployment rates were much lower in 2024 and slightly declining compared with the previous year, Eurostat said. For those aged 25-54, the unemployment rate was 5.4 per cent, (down 0.1 pp), while it was 4.1 per cent for those aged 55-74 (down 0.2 pp). 
The overall unemployment rate among individuals aged 15 to 74 declined by 0.2 pp from 6.1 per cent in 2023 to 5.9 per cent in 2024.

In Bulgaria, youth unemployment in 2024 was 12.3 per cent, up from 12.1 per cent in 2023, from 10.6 per cent in 2022, but down from 15.8 per cent in 2021 and 17.5 per cent in 2020.

(Main photo: Josh Klute/ freeimages.com)