Employment Rates Across Europe in 2025: Who Is Working and Where

Europe's employment rate in 2025

According to Eurostat's EU Labour Force Survey, around 198 million people aged 20-64 were in employment across the EU in 2025, representing an employment rate of 76.1%. That is up from 69.7% in 2016, with the rate moving steadily upward over that period. The EU has set a target of reaching 78% for this age group by 2030. In 2025, 16 EU member states had already passed that mark, while 9 others sat within the 70% to 78% range.

Which countries have the highest and lowest employment rates?

Seven EU countries recorded employment rates above 82% in 2025. Malta led at 83.6%, followed by the Netherlands at 83.4% and Czechia at 82.9%.

At the other end, Romania and Italy were the only two EU countries with rates below 70%. Romania's rate was 69% and Italy's was 67.6%.

The gender employment gap

In 2025, the employment rate for men aged 20-64 across the EU was 80.9%, while the rate for women was 71.3% - a gap of 9.6 percentage points.

Seven EU countries recorded a gender employment gap larger than the EU's 9.6 pp average. The widest gaps were in Italy (19.1 pp), Romania (18.7 pp), and Greece (17.4 pp). Eurostat data shows that fewer than 60% of women were in employment in Italy and Romania, and 62.3% in Greece, compared with more than 77% of men in those three countries.

The gap was smallest in Estonia, Finland, and Latvia, each recording a difference of around 2 pp or less. In Lithuania, the gender employment gap was negative: women's employment rate exceeded men's by 0.6 pp.

Employment rates by age group

Among people aged 15-24, the EU employment rate in 2025 was 36.6% for men and 32.4% for women - a gap of 4.2 pp. For the 55-64 age group, rates were 72.3% for men and 60.8% for women, a wider gap of 11.5 pp.

Both groups have seen their employment rates rise since 2016. Women aged 55-64 gained 13.5 pp over the period 2016-2025, while men in the same group gained 12.2 pp. For those aged 15-24, the gains were 3.5 pp for men and 3.4 pp for women.

How education level shapes employment

Employment rates in 2025 differed substantially by education level. The EU employment rate for people aged 20-64 with a high level of education - covering tertiary qualifications at bachelor's, master's, doctoral or equivalent levels - was 86.8%. For those with a medium level of education (upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary), the rate was 75.1%. Those with a low level of education - at most lower secondary - had a rate of 58.2%.

The gender employment gap also varied by education level. Among people with a high level of education, the gap was 4.7 pp. It widened to 11.1 pp at the medium level and to 22.3 pp at the low level.

In 15 EU countries, the largest share of employed people had a medium level of education. In 12 EU countries, the largest share had a high level. Countries with the highest proportions of highly educated people among the employed included Ireland (60.8%), Luxembourg (60.3%), and Lithuania (53.7%). The lowest proportions were in Romania (24.1%), Italy (26%), and Czechia (28.6%).