The chart above shows the unemployment rate in each EU state as of June 2019 (unless otherwise noted - see caveats below), the change from the previous month, and the rate one year prior. Czechia continues to be the only state with an unemployment rate below three percent.
Findings
- The difference between the state with the lowest unemployment rate, Czechia, and the state with the highest, Greece, is 15.7 percentage points (down from 16.1 last month and down from 17.5 last year). Czechia and Greece had the lowest and highest rates respectively both last month and last year.
- Greece has 9.26 times the unemployment rate that Czechia does. The ratio of highest rate to lowest rate was up from 8.67 last month and up from 8.61 last year.
- The median unemployment rate in the 28 EU states is 5.20 (same as 5.20 the previous month and down from 5.75 last year) and the mean 5.96 (down from 5.98 the previous month and down from 6.61 last year).
- Ten states did not see a change in their unemployment rate from the previous month, ten saw an improvement, and eight states saw their rate increase.
- Two states did not see a change in their unemployment rate from last year, 24 saw an improvement, and two states saw their rate increase.
Caveats
- Data is from June 2019 except for Estonia and Hungary which are from May 2019 and Greece and the United Kingdom which are from April 2019 (previous month and year rates also reflect the respective one and two month delay).
- Data may conflict with previous month's report as statistical agencies make updates to the rates over the course of the month.
- All figures are rounded to the nearest hundredth.
Details
In absolute terms, Greece had the greatest improvement over the previous month dropping 0.6 percentage points. Sweden had the biggest spike in its rate rising 0.2 percentage points. Year over year, Greece had the greatest improvement with a 2.2 percentage point drop while Sweden had the greatest deterioration with a 0.3 percentage point rise in the unemployment rate.
In relative terms, Czechia had the greatest improvement over the previous month with a 9.52% drop in its rate while Sweden had the biggest deterioration with a 3.12% rise in its rate. Year over year, Ireland had the greatest improvement with a 23.73% drop in its rate while Sweden had the greatest deterioration with a 4.76% rise in its rate.
Seven EU states have an unemployment rate below four percent (down from eight last month, up from six last year) which traditionally has placed inflationary pressure on wages. Seventeen have a rate between four and eight percent (up from 16 last month, up from 16 last year), and four have a rate above eight percent (same as four last month, down from six last year).
Malta and Cyprus each bested two states over the course of the month while Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria, and Lithuania each bested one. On the flip side, Sweden and Portugal were each bested by two states while Ireland and Luxembourg were each bested by one. Year-over-year, Slovenia, Ireland, Slovakia, and Cyprus surpassed four states each. Bulgaria and Latvia each surpassed three states; Malta and the Netherlands each surpassed two; and the United Kingdom overcame one. Conversely, Estonia and Luxembourg were each bested by four states; Poland, Denmark, Sweden, and Portugal were bested by three; and Austria was bested by two.
Data
| State | Last Year | Previous Rate | Latest Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.5 |
| Belgium | 6.1 | 5.5 | 5.6 |
| Bulgaria | 5.2 | 4.5 | 4.4 |
| Croatia | 8.6 | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Cyprus | 8.3 | 6.6 | 6.5 |
| Czechia | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.9 |
| Denmark | 5 | 4.9 | 4.8 |
| Estonia | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Finland | 7.5 | 6.6 | 6.6 |
| France | 9 | 8.6 | 8.7 |
| Germany | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.1 |
| Greece | 19.8 | 18.2 | 17.6 |
| Hungary | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
| Ireland | 5.9 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Italy | 10.8 | 9.8 | 9.7 |
| Latvia | 7.6 | 6.4 | 6.5 |
| Lithuania | 6.2 | 5.8 | 5.7 |
| Luxembourg | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.8 |
| Malta | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.4 |
| Netherlands | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| Poland | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
| Portugal | 6.9 | 6.6 | 6.7 |
| Romania | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4 |
| Slovakia | 6.7 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| Slovenia | 5.3 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| Spain | 15.1 | 14.1 | 14 |
| Sweden | 6.3 | 6.4 | 6.6 |
| United Kingdom | 4 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
Sources
Eurostat. 2019. "Unemployment by Sex and Age - Monthly Average." Accessed August 8, 2019. https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_DS-055624_QID_406E325B_UID_-3F171EB0&layout=TIME,C,X,0;GEO,L,Y,0;S_ADJ,L,Z,0;AGE,L,Z,1;UNIT,L,Z,2;SEX,L,Z,3;INDICATORS,C,Z,4;&zSelection=DS-055624S_ADJ,SA;DS-055624UNIT,PC_ACT;DS-055624SEX,T;DS-055624AGE,TOTAL;DS-055624INDICATORS,OBS_FLAG;&rankName1=UNIT_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=AGE_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=INDICATORS_1_2_-1_2&rankName4=SEX_1_2_-1_2&rankName5=S-ADJ_1_2_-1_2&rankName6=TIME_1_0_0_0&rankName7=GEO_1_2_0_1&sortC=ASC_-1_FIRST&rStp=&cStp=&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&footnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&time_mode=NONE&time_most_recent=false&lang=EN&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%23.%23%23%23.