Among EU member states, Spain recorded the highest unemployment rate at 10.5 per cent, followed by Finland at 9.7 per cent and Greece at 8.9 per cent. At the other end of the spectrum, Czechia posted the lowest unemployment rate at 2.8 per cent, while Poland and Malta each recorded rates of 3.1 per cent, Eurostat said in a press release.
The EU unemployment rate rose slightly to 6 per cent in 2025 from 5.9 per cent in 2024, according to Eurostat.
Spain recorded the highest rate at 10.5 per cent, while Czechia had the lowest at 2.8 per cent.
Unemployment remained strongly linked to education levels, with low-educated individuals facing a 10.5 per cent jobless rate, compared to 3.6 per cent among highly educated people.
The data also highlighted the strong link between educational attainment and employment prospects. People with lower levels of education continued to face significantly higher unemployment rates than those with medium or higher qualifications.
For individuals aged 25 to 74, the unemployment rate among those with low educational attainment stood at 10.5 per cent in 2025. This compares with 4.7 per cent for those with medium educational attainment and 3.6 per cent for people holding higher educational qualifications.
Slovakia registered the highest unemployment rate among people with low educational attainment at 38.8 per cent, followed by Sweden at 20 per cent and Finland at 18.8 per cent.
These countries also recorded the widest disparities between unemployment rates for people with low and high levels of education. In Slovakia, the gap reached 36.7 percentage points, with unemployment standing at 38.8 per cent for those with low educational attainment compared to 2.1 per cent for highly educated individuals.
In Sweden, the difference was 14.9 percentage points, with unemployment rates of 20 per cent and 5.1 per cent for low- and high-educated groups, respectively. Finland reported a gap of 13.9 percentage points, with unemployment rates of 18.8 per cent among the low educated and 4.9 per cent among those with higher educational attainment.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
