The euro area’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 6.3% in December 2024, down from 6.5% in December 2023, while the EU unemployment rate was 5.9% in December 2024, down from 6.0% in December 2023, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Month-on-month research showed the euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was up from 6.2% in November 2024 while the EU unemployment rate was up from 5.8% in November 2024.

Eurostat estimates that 12.978 million persons in the EU, of whom 10.83 million in the euro area, were unemployed in December 2024. When compared with November 2024, unemployment increased by 94,000 in the EU and by 96,000 in the euro area. When compared with December 2023, unemployment decreased by 261,000 in the EU and by 266,000 in the euro area.

Spain saw the highest unemployment rate in December at 10.6% while Czechia had the lowest rate at 2.6%.

In December 2024, the unemployment rate for women was 6.1% in the EU, unchanged compared with the previous month and down from 6.3% in December 2023.

In the EU, the unemployment rate for men was 5.7%, also stable compared with October 2024 and down from 5.8%

In the euro area, the unemployment rate for women was 6.5% and the unemployment rate for men was 6.1%, both stable compared with October 2024. In November 2023, the euro area unemployment rate for women was 6.8% and for men, it was 6.2%.

In December 2024, 2.927 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.359 million were in the euro area. In December 2024, the youth unemployment rate was 15.0% in the EU, down from 15.2% in November 2024, and 14.8% in the euro area, down from 14.9% in the previous month.