Eurostat: EU employment rate to reach 76.1% in 2025, with Italy coming last

Rome, 17 April (LaPresse) – In 2025, 76.1% (197.7 million people) of the EU population aged between 20 and 64 were in employment, the highest percentage recorded since the time series began in 2009. The employment rate rose by 0.3 percentage points compared with 2024 and by 0.8 points compared with 2023. Among EU countries, the highest employment rates were recorded in Malta (83.6%), the Netherlands (83.4%) and the Czech Republic (82.9%). The lowest rates were recorded in Italy (67.6%), Romania (69.0%) and Greece (71.0%). This is reported by Eurostat in a labour market statistic. According to the data, the gender gap is a particularly significant factor. In 2025, in all EU countries except Lithuania, the male employment rate was higher than the female rate. The male employment rate in the EU stood at 80.9%. Among EU countries, the highest rates were recorded in Malta (89.1%), the Czech Republic (88.2%) and the Netherlands (87.2%), whilst the lowest rates were observed in Belgium (76.4%), Croatia (76.8%) and Finland (77.0%). In the EU, the female employment rate stands at 71.3%, with the highest rates recorded in Estonia (81.4%), Lithuania (80.3%) and Sweden (79.8%). The lowest rates are recorded in Italy (58.0%), Romania (59.5%) and Greece (62.3%).