Statistics Explained

Migrant integration statistics – labour market indicators


Data extracted: May 2023.

Planned article update: May 2024.

Highlights


Among persons aged 20–64 years living in the EU in 2022, 61.9 % of non-EU citizens were employed, while for citizens of other EU Member States it was 77.1 % and 75.4 % for nationals.

The unemployment rate among persons aged 20–64 years living in the EU in 2022 was 5.5 % for nationals, 7.1 % for citizens of other EU Member States and approximately twice as high (12.8 %) for non-EU citizens.

The youth unemployment rate among persons aged 15–29 years living in the EU in 2022 was 15.7 % for non-EU citizens, 10.6 % for citizens of other EU Member States and 11.0 % for nationals.

Around 40 % of unemployed persons aged 20–64 years living in the EU in 2022 had been unemployed for at least a year: 41.6 % among unemployed nationals, 36.2 % among unemployed citizens of other EU Member States and 36.6 % among unemployed non-EU citizens.

Vertical multi-bar chart showing the percentage of main labour market indicators by citizenship in the EU for the year 2022. Data is shown for nationals, EU citizens other than nationals and non-EU citizens.
Main labour market indicators, by citizenship, EU, 2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_argan), (lfsa_ergan), (lfsa_urgan) and (lfsa_upgan)

This article presents European statistics for five labour market indicators: the activity rate, employment rate, unemployment rate, youth unemployment rate and the share of long-term unemployment. These indicators are mainly analysed according to individuals’ citizenship and, to a lesser extent, their country of birth. Information is presented for various groups of foreign citizens or foreign-born persons and compared with nationals or native-born persons.

This article forms part of an online publication on migrant integration statistics.


Full article

Overview

The labour force survey (EU-LFS) is the source of data for this article. The main focus of this article is the age group 20–64 years. This age group is of particular interest as it is the focus for employment analyses in the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021–2027. The information for the youth unemployment rate refers to people aged 15–29 years.

Five labour market indicators are presented in this article: activity rate, employment rate, unemployment rate, youth unemployment rate and the share of long-term unemployment.

  • The activity rate is the proportion of people in the labour force (employed or unemployed) as a percentage of the total population.
  • The employment rate is the number of employed persons (someone working as an employee, self-employed or contributing family workers) as a percentage of the total population.
  • The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force.
  • The youth unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons aged 15–29 years as a percentage of the labour force aged 15–29 years.
  • The share of long-term unemployment is the number of long-term unemployed persons (unemployed for at least a year) as a percentage of all unemployed persons.

This overview focuses on an analysis by citizenship of these five indicators for the EU; an additional analysis by country of birth is presented in Figure 4.

The following four sections present information by citizenship for the EU Member States and EFTA countries. Each of these sections focus on one indicator. A separate section with data for the Member States and EFTA countries is not presented for the share of long-term unemployment due to limited data availability.

Vertical multi-bar chart showing the percentage of main labour market indicators by citizenship in the EU for the year 2022. Data is shown for nationals, EU citizens other than nationals and non-EU citizens.
Figure 1: Main labour market indicators, by citizenship, EU, 2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_argan), (lfsa_ergan), (lfsa_urgan) and (lfsa_upgan)

Among persons aged 20–64 years living in the EU in 2022, 79.8 % of nationals were part of the labour force, in other words employed or unemployed. This activity rate was higher than for non-EU citizens (71.1 %) but lower than for citizens of other EU Member States (83.0 %).

Among persons aged 20–64 years living in the EU in 2022, 75.4 % of nationals were employed (employees, self-employed or contributing family workers). Again, the employment rate was higher than for non-EU citizens (61.9 %) but lower than for citizens of other EU Member States (77.1 %).

The unemployment rate among persons aged 20–64 years living in the EU in 2022 was 5.5 % for nationals; in other words, 5.5 % of persons in the labour force in this age range were unemployed. The rate was higher for citizens of other EU Member States (7.1 %) and approximately twice as high, 12.8 %, for non-EU citizens.

The youth unemployment rate is calculated for persons aged 15–29 years. In 2022, this rate in the EU was 11.0 % for nationals, 10.6 % for citizens of other EU Member States and 15.7 % for non-EU citizens. As such, compared with the unemployment rate for persons aged 20–64 years, the youth unemployment rate was 2.0 times as high among nationals, 1.5 times as high among citizens of other EU Member States and 1.2 times as high among non-EU citizens.

Around two fifths of unemployed persons aged 20–64 years living in the EU in 2022 had been unemployed for at least a year. This share was lowest for unemployed citizens of other EU Member States (36.2 %) and highest for unemployed national citizens (41.6 %), with the share for unemployed non-EU citizens (36.6 %) between these two.

Double vertical bar chart showing the ratio between the labour market indicators of foreign citizens and nationals in the EU for the year 2022.
Figure 2: Ratio between the labour market indicators of foreign citizens and nationals, EU, 2022
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_argan), (lfsa_ergan), (lfsa_urgan) and (lfsa_upgan)

Figure 2 is based on the same data as Figure 1 but, instead of showing the actual rates, it shows for the two foreign citizenship categories the ratio between their rates and the rates for nationals.

In order to see the indicators for which the gap is greatest, values for EU citizens, non-EU citizens have been normalised by dividing them by the values recorded for nationals. The values of the ratio for nationals are equal by construction to 1.

In the EU, activity and employment rates in 2022 for citizens of other EU Member States were quite similar to those for nationals. By contrast, these rates were clearly lower for non-EU citizens; for example, the employment rate for non-EU citizens was about one fifth lower than that for nationals.

Higher unemployment rates were observed in the EU in 2022 for both categories of foreign citizens than for nationals. The value of ratio was particularly high for the category of non-EU citizens, as its rate was 2.3 times as high as the rate for national citizens. For comparison, the unemployment rate for citizens of other EU Member States was 1.3 times as high as that for nationals. For the youth unemployment rate, there was almost no gap between the rate of citizens of other EU Member States and the rate of nationals while the value of ratio for non-EU citizens equalled 1.4.

The share of long-term unemployment differs from the four other indicators in that this share in the EU in 2022 was lower for both categories of foreign citizenship than for nationals.

Vertical multi-bar chart showing the change in main labour market indicators by citizenship in the EU between 2013 and 2022. Data are shown in percentage points for nationals, EU citizens other than nationals and non-EU citizens.
Figure 3: Change in main labour market indicators, by citizenship, EU, between 2013 to 2022
(percentage points)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_argan), (lfsa_ergan) and (lfsa_urgan)

Between 2013 and 2022, the activity rate increased in the EU for nationals and citizens of other EU Member States but decreased for non-EU citizens – see Figure 3. The increase in this rate was strongest among national citizens (up 3.7 percentage points).

For the employment rate, increases were observed in the EU between 2013 and 2022 for all three categories of citizenship. Citizens of other EU Member States recorded the largest increase (up 7.9 percentage points), while nationals recorded a bigger increase (up 7.4 percentage points) than non-EU citizens (up 6.9 percentage points).

The developments between 2013 and 2022 were quite different for the two unemployment rates compared with those for the activity and employment rates. For both unemployment rates – for persons aged 20–64 and 15–29 years – all three categories of citizenship recorded decreases. However, in percentage points these decreases were smallest for nationals and largest for non-EU citizens.

Double vertical bar chart showing the difference between the labour market indicators by citizenship and country of birth in the EU for the year 2022. Data are shown in percentage points.
Figure 4: Difference between the labour market indicators by citizenship and country of birth, EU, 2022
(percentage points)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_argan), (lfsa_argacob), (lfsa_ergan), (lfsa_ergacob), (lfsa_urgan), (lfsa_urgacob) and (yth_empl_100)

Figure 4 compares the analysis by citizenship of these labour market rates in the EU in 2022 with a similar analysis by country of birth. For each indicator, the rates for EU citizens other than nationals are compared with the rates for persons who are EU-born other than in the reporting Member State; equally, the rates for non-EU citizens are compared with the rates for non-EU-born persons.

For the three indicators concerning persons aged 20–64 years – activity, employment and unemployment rates – the rates across the EU were similar for citizens of other EU Member States and persons born in other Member States in 2022. By contrast, for these three indicators the difference between the rates for non-EU citizens and for non-EU-born persons was greater, particularly for the activity and employment rates. For example, the employment rate for non-EU-born persons was 65.9 %, whereas it was 4.0 percentage points lower (61.9 %) for non-EU citizens. Focusing on the difference between the rates for non-EU citizens and for non-EU-born persons, the activity and employment rates were lower for non-EU citizens than for non-EU-born persons, while the unemployment rate was higher for non-EU citizens.

Concerning the youth unemployment rate in the EU in 2022, there was no difference between the rates for non-EU citizens and non-EU-born persons. The rate of citizens of other EU Member States was 0.8 percentage points lower than the rate observed for persons born in other Member States.

Double vertical bar chart showing the difference between the labour market indicators for males and females by citizenship in the EU for the year 2022. Data are shown in percentage points.
Figure 5: Difference between the labour market indicators for males and females by citizenship, EU, 2022
(percentage points)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_argan), (lfsa_ergan) and (lfsa_urgan)

For both categories of foreign citizenship, Figure 5 shows the difference calculated for males and for females for the four labour market indicators. For each sex, this gap is calculated as the rate for each of the two foreign citizenship categories minus the rate for nationals. These gaps can be compared to identify if the gaps were larger for females or for males, or whether the gaps for males and females differed in terms of being positive or negative.

For all four indicators, the difference between the rates controlled by sex in the EU in 2022 was widest for female non-EU citizens. For the activity, employment, youth unemployment rates, the gap was narrowest for female citizens of other EU Member States, while for the unemployment rate among persons aged 20–64 years it was narrowest for male citizens of other Member States.

  • The activity rate for female non-EU citizens was 16.5 percentage points lower than for female nationals. This gap can be contrasted with a gap of 0.9 percentage points for male non-EU citizens. The activity rate was higher for citizens of other Member States than for nationals for both sexes, but with a narrower difference observed for females than for males.
  • The employment rate for female non-EU citizens was 21.2 percentage points lower than for female nationals. This gap can be contrasted with a gap of 5.6 percentage points for male non-EU citizens. The gap was narrower and in the opposite direction for male citizens of other Member States, while for female citizens of other Member States there was no difference between the rates.
  • The unemployment rate for female non-EU citizens was 9.7 percentage points higher than for female nationals; for male non-EU citizens this gap was 5.7 percentage points. The gaps were smaller for citizens of other Member States than for non-EU citizens, with the narrowest gap observed for males. For the youth unemployment rate, the gap for male citizens of other Member States was negative, while for female citizens of other Member States there was no difference between the rates.
Vertical multi-bar chart showing the difference between the labour market indicators for people with a tertiary education and all people aged 20-64 in the EU for the year 2022 by citizenship and sex. Data is shown in percentage points
Figure 6: Difference between the labour market indicators for people with a tertiary educational attainment and all people, persons aged 20–64 years, by citizenship and sex, EU, 2022
(percentage points)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_argaedn) and (lfsa_ergaedn)

Figure 6 also shows a gap, but it is a tertiary education gap for the EU in 2022. For the activity and employment rates, it reveals the extent by which the rates are higher for people with a tertiary educational attainment compared with the rates for all people (regardless of educational attainment).

  • Regardless of sex and category of citizenship, the tertiary education gap was wider for the employment rate than for the activity rate.
  • Females had wider tertiary education gaps than males: this was observed for both indicators and for all three categories of citizenship.
  • The widest tertiary education gaps were observed for female nationals, regardless of indicator. The narrowest tertiary education gap was observed for male non-EU citizens for the activity rate.

Activity rate

The activity rate is the number of people in the labour force as a percentage of the total population.

Among EU Member States, the highest activity rate in 2022 for nationals was in Sweden (88.3 %). This rate was above 75.0 % in the vast majority of EU Member States. Lower rates were observed in Croatia, Luxembourg, Romania and Italy (where the lowest rate was recorded, 70.1 %).

For citizens of other EU Member States, there was a greater range between the EU Member States (no data for Bulgaria, Poland or Romania) for activity rates in 2022. Rates above 90.0 % were observed in Lithuania (96.5 %; low reliability), Malta (91.7 %) and Latvia (91.1 %), while the lowest rate was in Croatia (62.4 %; low reliability). The range in rates was much broader for non-EU citizens than for nationals, from 92.8 % in Slovakia (low data reliability) to 52.4 % in Bulgaria (low data reliability).

In 19 of the 24 EU Member States for which data are available, activity rates in 2022 were higher for citizens of other Member States than for nationals. The largest gap was for Lithuania, where the rate for citizens of other Member States was 12.4 percentage points (low data reliability) higher than for nationals. The five Member States where lower activity rates were recorded for citizens of other Member States than for national citizens were Germany, France, Greece, Croatia and Estonia. In Estonia, where the gap was the largest, the rate for citizens of other Member States was 14.8 percentage points lower than that for nationals.

In 16 of the 27 EU Member States for which data are available, activity rates in 2022 were lower for non-EU citizens than for nationals. The largest gap was in Bulgaria (low data reliability), where the rate for non-EU citizen was 26.7 percentage points (low data reliability) lower than for nationals. Among the 11 Member States where non-EU citizens recorded higher activity rates than nationals, the largest gaps were observed in Croatia (12.5 percentage points; low data reliability) and Slovakia (11.3 percentage points; low data reliability).

Information about the gaps between both categories of foreign citizenship and nationals for the activity rate in 2022 are available for 24 EU Member States.

  • Estonia, Greece, Germany and France were the only Member States where the activity rate for nationals was higher than the rates for both categories of foreign citizens.
  • Slovakia, Malta, Czechia, Portugal, Lithuania, Slovenia, Luxembourg and Italy were the only Member States where the activity rate for nationals was lower than the rates for both categories of foreign citizens.
Vertical bar chart showing the activity rate for persons aged 20 to 64 years by citizenship for the year 2022. Data are shown as percentage for the EU, the EU Member States and some of the EFTA countries.
Figure 7: Activity rate, persons aged 20–64 years, by citizenship, 2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_argan)

Figure 8 shows the gaps between the activity rate of non-EU citizens and nationals in 2022. Positive values show where the activity rate was higher for non-EU citizens and negative rates where the rate was higher for nationals.

As already noted earlier, activity rates in 2022 were higher for non-EU citizens than for nationals in 11 of the EU Member States. When analysed by sex, this situation was observed in 14 Member States for males but just three for females.

  • For males, the widest gaps with higher activity rates for non-EU citizens were observed for Croatia (19.2 percentage points; low reliability) and Luxembourg (13.6 percentage points); the widest gap with a lower activity rate for non-EU citizens was observed for the Hungary (11.9 percentage points).
  • For females, the only gaps with higher activity rates for non-EU citizens were observed for Malta (13.5 percentage points), Croatia (6.7 percentage points) and Poland (3.3 percentage points); the widest gaps with lower activity rates for non-EU citizens were observed for Germany (30.2 percentage points) and Belgium (29.2 percentage points).

Information about the gaps for the activity rate in 2022 for non-EU citizens for both sexes are available for 24 EU Member States.

  • Malta, Croatia and Poland were the only Member States with higher activity rates for non-EU citizens for males and for females.
  • Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Cyprus, Latvia, Hungary, the Netherlands and Austria recorded lower activity rates for non-EU citizens for males and for females.
  • For Member States recording a negative gap for the activity rate for female non-EU citizens, the equivalent gap for males was generally less negative or in fact positive; the only exception was Hungary. By contrast, for the three Member States (Malta, Croatia and Poland) recording a positive gap for the activity rate for females the equivalent gap for males was smaller only in Malta.
Double vertical bar chart showing the difference between activity rates for non-EU citizens and nationals, aged 20 to 64, for the year 2022. Data are shown in percentage points as the rate for non-EU citizens minus rate for nationals. The EU, the EU Member States and some of the EFTA countries are shown in the graph, each with a bar for males and females.
Figure 8: Difference between activity rates for non-EU citizens and nationals, persons aged 20–64 years, 2022
(percentage points; rate for non-EU citizens minus rate for nationals)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_argan)

Employment rate

The employment rate is the number of employed persons as a percentage of the total population.

As with the activity rate, the highest employment rate in 2022 for nationals was in Sweden (83.8 %). The employment rate was above 70.0 % in the vast majority of EU Member States. Lower rates were observed in Croatia, Romania and Greece, with the lowest rate (64.9 %) in Italy.

For citizens of other EU Member States, there was a much greater range between the EU Member States (no data for Bulgaria, Poland and Romania) for employment rates in 2022. Rates above 90.0 % were observed in Lithuania (91.4 %; low reliability), while the rate was just above half in Greece (51.1 %). For non-EU citizens, the range in employment rates was also broader than for nationals, from 85.2 % in Slovakia (low data reliability) to less than half (48.7 %) in Belgium and Bulgaria (47.4 %; low reliability).

In 15 of the 24 EU Member States for which data are available, employment rates in 2022 were higher for citizens of other Member States than for nationals. The largest gaps were for Lithuania and Malta, where the rates for citizens of other Member States were respectively 12.4 and 10.1 percentage points higher than for nationals. Among nine Member States where non-EU citizens recorded lower employment rates than nationals, the largest gaps were observed in Greece (15.5 percentage points) and Estonia (14.4 percentage points).

In 20 of the 27 EU Member States, employment rates in 2022 were lower for non-EU citizens than for nationals; the largest gaps were in Bulgaria (28.4 percentage points, low data reliability), Belgium (24.4 percentage points) and Sweden (22.7 percentage points). Among the seven Member States where non-EU citizens recorded higher employment rates than nationals, the gap was the largest in Croatia and Slovakia (8.9 and 8.5 percentage points, respectively, low data reliability).

Information about the gaps for the employment rate in 2022 for both categories of foreign citizenship are available for 24 EU Member States.

  • Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Hungary, Finland and Sweden were the only Member States where the employment rate for nationals was higher than the rates for both categories of foreign citizens.
  • Czechia, Luxembourg Malta and Slovakia (low data reliability) were the only Member States where the employment rate for nationals was lower than the rates for both categories of foreign citizens.
Vertical bar chart showing the employment rate for persons aged 20 to 64 years in the EU for the year 2022 by citizenship. Data are shown as percentage for the EU, the EU Member States and some of the EFTA countries.
Figure 9: Employment rate, persons aged 20–64 years, by citizenship, 2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_ergan)

Figure 10 shows the gaps for the employment rate in 2022 between non-EU citizens and nationals. Positive values show where the employment rate was higher for non-EU citizens and negative rates where the rate was higher for nationals.

In Czechia, Luxembourg, Croatia, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia (low data reliability), employment rates in 2022 were higher for non-EU citizens than for nationals. When analysed by sex, this situation was observed in 11 Member States for males but just two for females.

  • For males, the widest gaps with a higher employment rate for non-EU citizens was observed for Croatia (18.7 percentage points) and Slovenia (10.7 percentage points); the widest gaps with lower employment rates for non-EU citizens were observed for the Netherlands (13.9 percentage points), Germany (11.9 percentage points), Sweden (10.7 percentage points) and Belgium (10.4 percentage points).
  • For females, the only gaps with higher employment rates for non-EU citizens were observed for Malta (12.1 percentage points) and Croatia (0.1 percentage points; low data reliability); the widest gaps with lower employment rates for non-EU citizens were observed for Sweden (36.0 percentage points) and Belgium (35.2 percentage points).

Information about the gaps for the employment rate in 2022 for non-EU citizens for both sexes are available for 24 EU Member States.

  • Malta and Croatia were the only Member States with higher employment rates for non-EU citizens for males and for females.
  • 13 Member States recorded lower employment rates for non-EU citizens for males and for females.
  • For Member States recording a negative gap for the employment rate for female non-EU citizens, the equivalent gap for males was generally less negative or in fact positive; the only exception was Cyprus.
Double vertical bar chart showing the difference between employment rates for non-EU citizens and nationals, aged 20 to 64, for the year 2022. Data are shown in percentage points as the rate for non-EU citizens minus rate for nationals. The EU, the EU Member States and some of the EFTA countries are shown in the graph, each with a bar for males and females.
Figure 10: Difference between employment rates for non-EU citizens and nationals, persons aged 20–64 years, 2022
(percentage points; rate for non-EU citizens minus rate for nationals)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_ergan)

Unemployment rate

The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force.

Among EU Member States, the highest unemployment rates in 2022 for nationals were in Greece (12.0 %) and Spain (11.6 %). Elsewhere in the EU, this rate was below 8.0 %. The lowest rates were observed in Czechia and Malta, each 2.1 %.

For citizens of other EU Member States, there was a much greater range between the EU Member States (data available for 16 Member States) for unemployment rates in 2022. The highest rates were 26.8 % and 15.4 %, again in Greece and Spain. At the other end of the ranking, two Member States recorded rates below 2.5 %: 2.4 % in the Netherlands and 2.2 % in Czechia (both low reliability).

In 2022, the range between the unemployment rates in EU Member States for non-EU citizens (data available for 21 Member States) was also broader than for nationals. The highest rate was 23.3 % in Sweden, 20.6 percentage points above the rate in Czechia (2.7 %; low reliability).

In 13 of the 16 EU Member States for which data are available, unemployment rates in 2022 were higher for citizens of other Member States than for nationals. The largest gap was for Greece, where the rate for citizens of other Member States was 14.8 percentage points higher than for nationals. The three Member States where citizens of other Member States recorded lower unemployment rates than national citizens were Cyprus, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, where the gaps were narrow (at most 0.7 percentage points).

In all 21 EU Member States for which data are available, unemployment rates in 2022 were higher for non-EU citizens than for nationals. The largest gaps were in Sweden and Belgium, where the rates for non-EU citizens were, respectively, 18.2 and 12.4 percentage points higher than for nationals. The narrowest gaps were in Czechia and Ireland, 0.9 and 1.7 percentage points, respectively.

Information about the gaps for the unemployment rate in 2022 between both categories of foreign citizenship and nationals is available for 16 EU Member States. In most of these Member States, the lowest unemployment rate was observed for nationals and the highest for non-EU citizens.

  • Cyprus, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were the only Member States where the unemployment rate for nationals was not lower than the rates for both categories of foreign citizens; in these three Member States, the lowest rate was for citizens of other Member States.
  • Greece was the only Member State where the unemployment rate for non-EU citizens was not higher than for nationals and for citizens of other Member States; in Greece, the highest rate was for citizens of other Member States.
Vertical bar chart showing the unemployment rate for persons aged 20 to 64 years in the EU for the year 2022 by citizenship. Data are shown as percentage for the EU, the EU Member States and some of the EFTA countries.
Figure 11: Unemployment rate, persons aged 20–64 years, by citizenship, 2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_urgan)

Figure 12 shows the gaps for the unemployment rate in 2022 for non-EU citizens. Positive values show when the unemployment rate was higher for non-EU citizens and negative rates when the rate was higher for nationals.

As already noted earlier, in all of the EU Member States for which data are available unemployment rates in 2022 were higher for non-EU citizens than for nationals. When analysed by sex, this situation was observed in all but one Member State for males and females.

  • For males, the widest gap with higher unemployment rates for non-EU citizens was observed for Sweden (13.1 percentage points). The only Member State with a lower unemployment rate for male non-EU citizens was Slovenia, where the difference was 0.7 percentage points (low data reliability).
  • For females, the widest gap with higher unemployment rates for non-EU citizens was also observed for Sweden (25.9 percentage points).
  • For the Member States recording a positive gap for the unemployment rate for female non-EU citizens, the equivalent gap for males was smaller; the only exceptions were Finland, Cyprus and Malta (low data reliability).
Double vertical bar chart showing the difference between unemployment rates for non-EU citizens and nationals, aged 20 to 64, for the year 2022. Data are shown in percentage points as the rate for non-EU citizens minus rate for nationals. The EU, the EU Member States and some of the EFTA countries are shown in the graph, each with a bar for males and females.
Figure 12: Difference between unemployment rates for non-EU citizens and nationals, persons aged 20–64 years, 2022
(percentage points; rate for non-EU citizens minus rate for nationals)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_urgan)

Youth unemployment rate

The youth unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons aged 15–29 years as a percentage of the labour force aged 15–29 years.

Among EU Member States, the highest youth unemployment rates in 2022 for nationals were in Greece (24.3 %) and Spain (22.0 %). This rate was below 20 % in the remaining EU Member States. The lowest rates were observed in Germany (4.4 %) and Czechia (4.3 %).

Data for citizens of other EU Member States and for non-EU citizens are only available for some EU Member States, 10 and 16, respectively. For citizens of other Member States, the range between the Member States’ youth unemployment rates in 2022 was a little narrower than that for nationals, from 5.6 % in Luxembourg to 23.2 % in Spain. For non-EU citizens, the range of rates was somewhat narrower again: Malta had the lowest rate (8.3 %; low reliability) while Spain had the highest rate (24.2 %).

In six of the 10 EU Member States for which data are available, youth unemployment rates in 2022 were higher for citizens of other Member States than for nationals. The largest gap was for Austria, where the rate for citizens of other Member States was 3.6 percentage points higher than for nationals. In four Member States, citizens of other Member States recorded lower youth unemployment rates than nationals (Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Cyprus).

In 15 of the 16 EU Member States for which data are available, youth unemployment rates in 2022 were higher for non-EU citizens than for nationals. The largest gap was in Belgium, where the rate for non-EU citizens was 9.5 percentage points higher than for nationals. Only Greece recorded a lower youth unemployment rate for non-EU citizens than for nationals.

Information about the gaps for the youth unemployment rate in 2022 between both categories of foreign citizenship and nationals is available for 10 EU Member States.

  • Belgium, Cyprus, France and Luxembourg were the Member States where the youth unemployment rate for nationals was not lower than the rates for both categories of foreign citizens; in these four Member States, the lowest rate was for citizens of other Member States.
  • Italy was the only Member State where the youth unemployment rate for non-EU citizens was not higher than for nationals and for citizens of other Member States; in this Member State, the highest youth unemployment rate was for citizens of other Member States.
Vertical bar chart showing the youth unemployment rate for persons aged 15 to 29 years in the EU for the year 2022 by citizenship. Data are shown as percentage for the EU, the EU Member States and some of the EFTA countries.
Figure 13: Youth unemployment rate, persons aged 15–29 years, by citizenship, 2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_urgan)

Figure 14 shows the gaps for the youth unemployment rate in 2022 between non-EU citizens and nationals. Positive values show when the youth unemployment rate was higher for non-EU citizens.

In general, youth unemployment rates in 2022 were higher for non-EU citizens than for nationals. When analysed by sex, this situation was observed in 11 out of 13 Member States for which data are available for males and 10 out of 12 Member States for which data are available for females.

  • For males, the largest gap was for Cyprus, where the rate for non-EU citizens was 14.9 percentage points higher than for nationals. Only in Italy and Greece did male non-EU citizens record lower youth unemployment rates than male nationals.
  • For females, the largest gap was for Sweden, where the rate for female non-EU citizens was 16.5 percentage points higher than for female nationals. Only in Greece and Cyprus did female non-EU citizens record lower youth unemployment rates than female nationals.
Double vertical bar chart showing the difference between youth unemployment rates for non-EU citizens and nationals, aged 15 to 29, for the year 2022. Data are shown in percentage points as the rate for non-EU citizens minus rate for nationals. The EU, the EU Member States and some of the EFTA countries are shown in the graph, each with a bar for males and females.
Figure 14: Difference between youth unemployment rates for non-EU citizens and nationals, persons aged 15–29 years, 2022
(percentage points; rate for non-EU citizens minus rate for nationals)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_urgan)


Data sources

The data presented in this article are from the labour force survey (LFS), the largest household sample survey in the EU. The survey covers the resident population, defined as all people usually residing in private households. As such, persons living in collective households are excluded from the target population. Usual residence means the place where a person normally spends the daily period of rest, regardless of temporary absences for purposes of recreation, holidays, visits to friends and relatives, business, medical treatment or religious pilgrimage. The data for the EU are aggregated results for the 27 EU Member States. For more information on the data sources used, please consult the online publication EU labour force survey.

Due to the sampling nature of the survey, some data have low reliability or are not published due to very low reliability or confidentiality. Data that are of low reliability are duly marked in the footnotes below the figures and tables.

Main concepts

The economically active population is also referred to as the labour force. It comprises employed and unemployed persons.

  • An employed person is someone aged 15–89 years who, during the reference week of the labour force survey, performed work – even if just for one hour a week – for pay, profit or family gain. Also included are people who were not at work but had a job or business from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, holiday, industrial dispute or education and training.
  • An unemployed person is defined by Eurostat, according to the guidelines of the International Labour Organization, as someone:
    • aged 15 to 74 years,
    • not employed during the reference week according to the definition of employment,
    • currently available for work,
    • actively seeking work or found a job to start within a period of at most three months.
  • A long-term unemployed person is someone who is out of work and has been actively seeking employment for at least a year. The unemployment period is defined as the duration of a job search, or as the length of time since the last job was held (if shorter than the time spent on a job search).

Country notes

Spain and France have assessed the attachment to the job and included in employment those who, in their reference week, had an unknown duration of absence but expected to return to the same job once health measures allow it.

Calculation of key rates:

  • the activity rate is the number of people in the labour force (employed or unemployed) as a percentage of the total population;
  • the employment rate is the number of employed persons as a percentage of the total population;
  • the unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force;
  • the youth unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons aged 15–29 years as a percentage of the labour force aged 15–29 years;
  • the share of long-term unemployment is the number of long-term unemployed persons as a percentage of all unemployed persons.

Context

In November 2020, an Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021–2027 (COM(2016) 377 final) was adopted with the purpose of fostering social cohesion and building inclusive societies for all. Inclusion for all is about ensuring that all policies are accessible to and work for everyone, including migrants and EU citizens with migrant background. This plan includes actions in four sectoral areas (education and training, employment and skills, health and housing) as well as actions supporting effective integration and inclusion in all sectoral areas at the EU, Member State and regional level, with a specific attention paid to young people.

More information on the policies and legislation in force in this area can be found in an introductory article on migrant integration statistics.

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Employment (mii_emp)
Activity rates (mii_act)
Unemployment (mii_une)
Employment and self-employment (mii_em)