In November 2025, the unemployment rate across the eurozone dropped to 6.3%, marking a seven-month low and edging close to the historic record of 6.2% recorded shortly before the euro’s introduction in January 1999. This represents a slight decrease from October’s 6.4%, according to Eurostat data. Across the broader European Union, unemployment remained stable at 6.0% for the fifth consecutive month.
Among EU member states, Spain reported the highest unemployment in November at 10.4%, followed by Finland at 10.1%, Sweden at 9.0%, and Greece at 8.2%. The lowest rates were seen in Malta at 3.1%, Poland at 3.2%, and the Czech Republic at 3.2%. Bulgaria’s unemployment continued its downward trend, reaching 3.5% in November 2025, down from 3.6% in October and 4.0% a year earlier. Only Malta, the Czech Republic, and Poland reported lower rates within the EU.
In absolute numbers, Eurostat reports that 13.225 million people across the EU were unemployed in November 2025, of whom 10.937 million were in the eurozone. This represents a decrease of 97,000 across the EU compared to October and 71,000 in the eurozone. However, compared to November 2024, the total number of unemployed Europeans rose by 416,000, with 253,000 more within the eurozone. In Bulgaria, the unemployed population fell to 104,000 in November 2025 from 108,000 the previous month, and down from 121,000 a year earlier.
Youth unemployment, for people under 25, also showed a slight decline across Europe. In the EU, it fell to 15.1% from 15.2% in October, while in the eurozone it dropped to 14.6% from 14.8%. In Bulgaria, the youth unemployment rate decreased to 12.6% from 13.2% in October, though it remains higher than the 9.8% recorded in November 2024.