In the EU, the employment rate of people aged 20-64 stood at 74.0% in the fourth quarter of 2021, which represents an increase of 0.5 percentage points (pp) compared with the third quarter of 2021.
The labour market slack, which comprises all people who have an unmet need for employment and of which one of the main components is unemployment, amounted to 12.3% of the extended labour force aged 20-64 in the fourth quarter of 2021, down from 12.8% in the third quarter 2021 (-0.5 pp).
Changes in the employment rate between the third and the fourth quarter of 2021 varied across the EU Member States. The highest increases were recorded in Malta (+1.8 pp), Greece (+1.5 pp), Estonia (+1.3 pp), Ireland (+1.2 pp) as well as in Croatia (+1.0 pp).
While employment rose in 21 EU Member States, it remained stable in Portugal and Slovakia, and decreased in Lithuania (-0.1 pp), Luxembourg (-0.3 pp), Slovenia (-0.4 pp) and Latvia (-0.6 pp), Eurostat reports.
