Romania records highest rural unemployment rate in EU, Eurostat data shows

Eurostat's latest labour‑market figures reveal that the rural unemployment rate in Romania is the highest among EU members, reaching 9.3 % in the latest reporting period. This contrasts with the overall EU unemployment rate of 6.0 % and lower figures in countries such as the Czech Republic (2.8 %) and Poland (3.1 %). The data also highlights disparities by education level and gender across the union.

In Portugal, the employment rate remained stable, holding at 76.3 % for people aged 20‑64 in the first quarter of 2026, a slight rise from 76.2 % in the previous quarter. During the same period, 3 million unemployed individuals across the EU found work, while a similar number transitioned to inactivity. Portugal was among the six EU nations where employment did not change.