Euro Area Unemployment Held at 6.3% in June for a Fourth Straight Month

Eurostat reported on Thursday, 30 July 2026, that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area held at 6.3% in June 2026 for a fourth consecutive month. Markets had expected the rate to reach a record low of 6.2%. The currency bloc's labour market has stayed stable even as energy costs and interest rates have risen in recent months following the outbreak of war in West Asia.

The number of unemployed people rose by 69,000 from the previous month to 11.13 million. The unemployment rate for those aged under 25 fell to 14.8% from 14.9%.

Among the largest euro area economies, the jobless rate rose in Germany, from 3.8% to 3.9%, and in Italy, from 5.3% to 5.7%. It was unchanged in France at 8.2%, and fell in Spain, from 10.2% to 10.1%, and in the Netherlands, from 3.9% to 3.8%. The euro area unemployment rate has averaged 9.13% since 1995, with a record low of 6.2% recorded in October 2024.