In the second quarter of 2024, the employment rate of people aged 20-64 in the EU stood at 75.8%, an increase of 0.5% compared with Q2 2023 and an increase of 0.2% compared with the first quarter of 2024, according to the latest estimates by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Between the first and the second quarter of 2024, Estonia (+1.0%), Lithuania (+0.9%) and Czechia (+0.8%) registered the highest increases in the employment rate among the 18 EU countries where employment rose. The employment rate remained stable in Italy, Poland and Slovakia and decreased in 6 EU countries, with the biggest decreases recorded in Slovenia (-0.7%) and Finland (-0.4%).

Labour market slack - encompassing those with unmet employment needs, a large part of which includes unemployed persons - amounted to 11.0% of the extended labour force aged 20-64 in the second quarter of 2024 (a decrease of 0.1 pp compared with the first quarter of 2024).

Separately, Eurostat also published job vacancy data for the second quarter of 2024. The job vacancy rate was 2.6% in the euro area, down from 2.9% in the first quarter of 2024 and down from 3.1% in the second quarter of 2023.

The job vacancy rate in the EU was 2.4% in the second quarter of 2024, down from 2.6% in the first quarter of 2024 and down from 2.9% in the second quarter of 2023.

In the euro area, the job vacancy rate in the second quarter of 2024 was 2.3% in industry and construction, and 2.9% in services. In the EU, the rate was 2.2% in industry and construction, and 2.7% in services.

Among the member states for which comparable data are available, the highest job vacancy rates in the second quarter of 2024 were recorded in Belgium, the Netherlands (4.4%) and Austria (4.0%). By contrast, the lowest rates were observed in Romania (0.7%), Bulgaria (0.8%), Poland and Spain (0.9%).

When compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the job vacancy rate increased in six member states, remained stable in three member states and decreased in 18 member states. The largest increase was observed in Greece (+0.9%). The largest decreases were recorded in Germany (-1.0%), Austria (-0.9%), and Sweden (-0.8%).

The highest job vacancy rates, for both the EU and the euro area, were recorded in:

• Administrative and support service activities, which include temporary employment agencies (3.9% in the euro area, 3.8% in the EU)
• Construction (3.5% in the euro area, 3.2% in the EU)
• Accommodation and food service activities (3.3% in the euro area, 3.2% in the EU)
• Information and communication (3.2% in the euro area, 3.0% in the EU), and
• Professional, scientific and technical activities (3.0% in the euro area, 2.8% in the EU)