Eurostat said on 2 July that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area was 6.2% in May 2026, unchanged from April and down from 6.3% a year earlier. The EU rate was 5.9%, unchanged on the month and down from 6.0% in May 2025.
The estimates imply 10.986 million unemployed people in the euro area and 13.163 million in the EU, with monthly declines of 55,000 and 40,000 respectively, and annual declines of 158,000 and 82,000. Eurostat also said April 2026 was revised to 6.2% for the euro area from 6.3% and to 5.9% for the EU from 6.0%.
Youth unemployment in May stood at 14.7% in the euro area, stable from April, and 15.2% in the EU, up from 15.1%. There were 2.313 million unemployed people under 25 in the euro area and 2.918 million in the EU. In the euro area, the unemployment rate for women was 6.4% in May, down from 6.5% in April, and for men it was 6.0%, down from 6.1%; in the EU, the rates were 6.2% for women and 5.7% for men.
Among member states listed in the release, May rates included Germany at 3.8%, France at 8.2%, Italy at 5.0%, Spain at 10.3%, Greece at 8.1%, the Netherlands at 3.9%, Portugal at 5.5%, Finland at 10.6% and Sweden at 8.7%.