Eurozone unemployment stays at a record low despite economic hurdles
According to Eurostat data released on Thursday, the EU's unemployment rate was 5.9% in June 2025, also stable compared with May 2025 and down from 6.0% in June 2024.
In total, around 12.97 million people in the EU were unemployed this June, of whom 10.7 million were in the eurozone.
Among member states, the jobless rate was lowest in Malta (2.5%), while the highest rate of 10.4% was seen in Spain.
Job growth is nonetheless stronger in southern eurozone countries, compared to northern economies that have seen unemployment tick up in recent years.
Joblessness decreased in Spain, Italy and Portugal, while the rate remained stable in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Countries including Austria, Poland, Denmark, and Finland experienced increases.
'The eurozone economy is facing huge uncertainty now, but business surveys about activity and hiring actually don't look that bad,' said Bert Colijn, ING's chief economist in the Netherlands.
'This makes it likely that unemployment will continue to trend around the current all-time lows. Low unemployment dampens the impact of economic uncertainty on domestic demand, which contributes to our view of continued economic growth in the coming quarters.'
Easing inflation
Certain member states also released inflation data on Thursday.
France's INSEE recorded annual consumer price inflation at 1% in July, unchanged compared to June's annual figure, while price pressures increased by 0.2% month-on-month in July.
Italian inflation was unchanged from June's annual figure at 1.7% in July, according to Istat, slightly higher than expectations. On a monthly basis, CPI rose by 0.4%.
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