The European Union's labour market continued to strengthen in the first quarter of 2026, with employment reaching a new high while overall labour market slack edged lower,

according to data released by Eurostat.

The employment rate among people aged 20 to 64 rose to 76.3% in the first quarter of 2026, up slightly from 76.2% recorded in the final quarter of 2025. The increase reflects ongoing resilience across much of the EU labour market despite varying trends among member states.

At the same time, labour market slack—which measures the share of people with unmet employment needs, including the unemployed—fell to 10.9% of the extended labour force aged 20 to 64. This marks a modest decline from 11.0% in the previous quarter, indicating a gradual tightening of labour market conditions across the bloc.

The figures come from Eurostat's latest labour market data for the first quarter of 2026. The release highlights broader trends in employment and labour utilisation across the EU.

Among member states, Italy recorded the strongest quarterly improvement in employment, with its rate rising by 0.5 percentage points. Belgium, Cyprus, Lithuania, Slovakia and Sweden also posted notable gains, each increasing by 0.4 percentage points.

Employment increased in 11 EU countries overall, remained unchanged in six, and declined in ten. Latvia experienced the sharpest drop, with its employment rate falling by 0.8 percentage points, followed by Ireland at 0.7 percentage points. Slovenia and Finland each recorded declines of 0.3 percentage points.

The latest data suggest that while labour market performance remains uneven across the European Union, the overall trend points to stronger employment and reduced underutilisation of labour at the start of 2026. Photo by Phil Whitehouse, Wikimedia commons.