Eurostat reports a marginal decline in the employment rate for people aged 20-64 in the European Union

In the third quarter of 2023, the employment rate for people aged 20-64 in the European Union recorded a slight decline to 75.3%, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous quarter.

Labour market data for Q3 2023, published by Eurostat, also show an underutilization rate of the labour force, which includes people with unmet employment needs, a significant share of whom are unemployed. This constituted 11.3% of the extended labour force of people aged 20-64.

Between Q2 and Q3 2023, the employment rate varied across EU Member States, with Malta (+1.1 pp) and Belgium (+0.5 pp) recording the largest increases among the 11 EU countries where employment increased. Employment remained stable in Luxembourg and the Netherlands, while in 14 EU countries it fell, with the largest decreases in Croatia (-1.3 pp) and Bulgaria (-1.1 pp).