The European Union’s unemployment rate edged down to 5.9 percent in July, from 6 percent in June, according to adjusted figures from Eurostat.
Within the eurozone—the 20 EU member states using the euro—unemployment also fell slightly to 6.2 percent.
The Czech Republic once again recorded one of the bloc’s lowest unemployment rates, with just 2.8 percent of people out of work in July, an improvement of 0.2 percentage points compared to June. Only Malta had a lower rate at 2.6 percent.
Eurostat’s figures, based on household surveys conducted by the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ) and covering people aged 15–74, differ from the official data published by the Czech Labour Office, which tracks registered jobseekers aged 15–64.
By the Labour Office’s measure, unemployment rose slightly in July to 4.4 percent, up from 4.2 percent in June, illustrating how methodology can influence the headline figure.
Across the EU, more than 13 million people were unemployed in July, including 10.8 million in the eurozone. Month-on-month, the EU saw a decline of 165,000 unemployed, while the eurozone recorded a decrease of 170,000.
Year-on-year, the number of unemployed fell by 105,000 across the EU and by 161,000 in the eurozone, reflecting a gradual recovery despite ongoing economic pressures such as inflation and slowing growth.
Youth unemployment remains a persistent challenge. Among under-25s, the rate was 14.4 percent in the EU and 13.9 percent in the eurozone, a slight improvement from June. This represents around 2.8 million young people unemployed across the EU, including 2.2 million in the eurozone.
Gender disparities also continue. In the EU, women’s unemployment was 6 percent compared with 5.8 percent for men, while in the eurozone the gap was slightly larger at 6.4 percent for women versus 6.1 percent for men. Both figures showed modest improvement compared with the previous month.
In the Czech Republic, the Labour Office reported 329,501 registered unemployed at the end of July, about 14,000 fewer than in June. However, the number of available job vacancies fell by around 3,000, suggesting some tightening of the labour market.
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