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Euronews
Euronews
Servet Yanatma

Hidden unemployment in Europe: Which countries face the greatest labour market slack?

As of the second quarter of 2025, 13.3 million people aged 15 to 74 in the EU are officially unemployed. However, this figure rises to 26.8 million when including so-called ‘hidden unemployment’, since the standard definition of employment is very restrictive. It excludes three key groups:

  • people available to work but not actively seeking employment

  • underemployed people working part-time

  • people seeking work but not immediately available

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