Eurozone Unemployment Stays at 6.5% as September Jobless Count Rises

The euro area's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 6.5% in September 2026, according to figures released by Eurostat on October 30. Although the percentage was unchanged from August, the estimated number of unemployed people increased by 122,000 to 11.555 million.

Across the wider European Union, unemployment also remained stable at 6.2%, while the number of people without work rose by 105,000 to 13.773 million. The figures illustrate how a rounded unemployment rate can remain unchanged even when the underlying count of jobseekers rises.

Compared with September 2025, the euro-area rate increased from 6.3% to 6.5%. The estimated number of unemployed people was 420,000 higher than a year earlier. The EU rate increased from 6.0% to 6.2% over the same period, with 471,000 more people counted as unemployed.

Conditions were more difficult for younger workers. The euro-area unemployment rate among people younger than 25 rose to 15.4% from 15.1% in August, with an estimated 2.469 million young people unemployed. For the EU as a whole, youth unemployment increased to 15.5% from 15.4%.

The estimates use the internationally recognised definition of unemployment, which covers people without jobs who are actively seeking work and available to begin employment. They do not measure every person who would like additional paid work, nor do they represent the share of all young people who are jobless.

Eurostat's harmonised figures allow comparison across member states, but they are subject to later statistical revisions. The release describes September's labour-market position rather than a prediction of hiring in the final months of the year.

Sources

•Eurostat September 2026 unemployment release, reproduced by Kurzy.cz.

•Trading Economics analysis and unemployment data, updated October 30, 2026.

Sources

•Supporting source 1

•Supporting source 2