Euro area jobless rate dips as EU unemployment holds at 6%

The seasonally adjusted euro area unemployment rate slipped from 6.4 per cent in October 2025 but remained slightly above the 6.2 per cent recorded a year earlier. In the wider European Union, the rate was unchanged month on month at 6 per cent, though it rose from 5.8 per cent in November 2024, Eurostat said in a press release.

Eurostat estimated that 13.225 million people were unemployed across the EU in November, including 10.937 million in the euro area. On a monthly basis, unemployment fell by 97,000 in the EU and by 71,000 in the single-currency bloc. On an annual comparison, however, the number of unemployed increased by 4,16,000 in the EU and by 2,53,000 in the euro area.

Youth unemployment showed a slight improvement during the month. In November 2025, 2.923 million people under the age of 25 were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.318 million were in the euro area.

The youth unemployment rate eased to 15.1 per cent in the EU from 15.2 per cent in October, while in the euro area it declined to 14.6 per cent from 14.8 per cent. Month on month (MoM), the number of unemployed young people fell by 44,000 in the EU and by 42,000 in the euro area, although year on year it rose by 24,000 and 11,000 respectively.

Gender-based unemployment rates remained broadly stable. In the EU, unemployment stood at 6.2 per cent for women and 5.8 per cent for men, unchanged from October. In the euro area, the jobless rate for women eased to 6.5 per cent from 6.6 per cent, while the rate for men was steady at 6.1 per cent.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (SG)