The employment rate among European Union residents aged twenty to sixty-four reached 76.1 percent. This means that as many as 197.7 million people in this age group were in paid employment. The result is particularly noteworthy because it marks the highest level since comparable statistical data began to be collected in 2009. Compared to 2024, the indicator rose by 0.3 percentage points, while relative to 2023 it climbed by 0.8 percentage points. These figures, published by Eurostat, are based on the labour force survey and paint a picture of the employment situation across the European community at the end of 2025.
Such an employment level points to the continued improvement of labour markets across the member states. Since monitoring began in 2009, the European Union has gradually moved toward higher rates of professional activity. The year 2025 goes down as the moment the 76 percent threshold was crossed.
Achievements in individual member states are, however, highly uneven. Some countries can boast exceptionally strong results, significantly above the EU average. Leading this group are Malta, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, where the employment rate in the analysed age group clearly exceeded 82 percent. These countries demonstrate how effective economic models can be when built on high professional participation, innovation and appropriate alignment of market regulation with the needs of employers and workers. On the other hand, in several countries the indicators remain markedly below the EU average. The weakest results were recorded in Italy, where the employment rate stood at just 67.6 percent, as well as in Romania and Greece, where it hovered around 69 to 71 percent. Such differences underscore the challenges facing these economies, possibly linked to sector structure, investment levels or the specifics of regional labour markets. Despite overall progress, some regions of Europe still require targeted support to catch up with the leaders.
Another important aspect of the analysed statistics is the breakdown by gender, which reveals persistent disparities on the European labour market. The overall employment rate for men in the European Union reached 80.9 percent, a solid result that reflects their high professional activity in most EU countries. Among women, the indicator was lower, reaching 71.3 percent. The gap between these figures amounts to 9.6 percentage points, showing that despite progress, women still face greater barriers to accessing employment or holding down full-time work. It is worth emphasising, however, that in all member states except one, men achieved higher employment rates. The exception is Lithuania, where women slightly outpaced men in this respect. The largest gender gaps are visible in southern and eastern Europe. In Italy the difference reaches as much as 19.1 percentage points, in Romania 18.7 points, and in Greece 17.4 percentage points. These wide disparities suggest that traditional gender roles remain strong in these societies, or that there is a lack of adequate support for childcare and elder care, which limits women's professional opportunities.
On the other hand, in some countries the gender gap is minimal or almost non-existent. In the Baltic and Nordic states, women are performing especially well on the labour market. In Estonia, for instance, their employment rate reaches 81.4 percent, in Lithuania 80.3 percent, and in Sweden 79.8 percent. These results show that the right family, equality and flexible-employment policies can significantly contribute to levelling the playing field between the sexes. Among men, the highest rates were recorded in Malta, where they exceeded 89 percent, as well as in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, approaching 88 and 87 percent respectively. This shows that in these countries both men and the population as a whole display very high professional activity.
The overall picture of the European Union labour market in 2025 is therefore mixed, but decidedly positive. The record employment level provides grounds for optimism and encourages continued efforts to push the indicator even higher. At the same time, the Eurostat data serve as a reminder of the need to address existing inequalities — both between countries and between women and men. Only through a comprehensive approach, encompassing investment in education, care infrastructure and labour market reforms, will it be possible to achieve even better results in the future.
