In July 2020, a month marked by some relaxation of COVID-19 containment measures in many Member States, the euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 7.9 %, up from 7.7 % in June 2020. The EU unemployment rate was 7.2 % in July 2020, up from 7.1 % in June 2020.

Eurostat estimates that 15.184 million men and women in the EU-27 [1] , of whom 12.793 million in the euro area ( EA-19 ) [2] , were unemployed in July 2020. Compared with June 2020, the number of persons unemployed increased by 336 000 in the EU and by 344 000 in the euro area.

In July 2020, 2.906 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.338 million were in the euro area. In July 2020, the youth unemployment rate was 17.0 % in the EU and 17.3 % in the euro area, up from 16.9 % and 17.2 % respectively in the previous month. Compared with June 2020, youth unemployment increased by 37 000 in the EU and by 29 000 in the euro area.

In July 2020, the unemployment rate for women was 7.5 % in the EU, up from 7.3 % in June 2020. The unemployment rate for men was 7.0 % in July 2020, up from 6.8 % in June 2020. In the euro area, the unemployment rate for women increased from 8.0 % in June 2020 to 8.3 % in July 2020 and from 7.5 % to 7.6 % for men.

Data sources

These estimates are based on the globally used International Labour Organisation standard definition of unemployment, which counts as unemployed people without a job who have been actively seeking work in the last four weeks and are available to start work within the next two weeks. The COVID-19 outbreak and the measures applied to combat it have triggered a sharp increase in the number of claims for unemployment benefits across the EU. At the same time, a significant part of those those who had registered in unemployment agencies were no longer actively looking for a job or no longer available for work, for instance, if they had to take care of their children. This leads to discrepances in the number of registered unemployed and those measured as unemployed according to the ILO definition. To capture in full the unprecedented labour market situation triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak, the data on unemployment have been complemented by additional indicators, e.g. on employment, labour market slack – annual statistics on unmet needs for employment, when LFS data for the first quarter of 2020 have been published.

An unemployed person is defined by Eurostat, according to the guidelines of the International Labour Organization, as someone aged 15 to 74 without work during the reference week who is available to start work within the next two weeks and who has actively sought employment at some time during the last four weeks. The unemployment rate is the number of people unemployed as a percentage of the labour force.

In addition to the unemployment measures covered here, Eurostat also publishes statistics for persons who fulfil only partially the definition of unemployment. These persons are not included in the official ILO unemployment concept and have a varying degree of attachment to the labour market. The indicators on Labour market slack – annual statistics on unmet needs for employment supplement the unemployment rate to provide a more complete picture of the labour market.

There is currently no specific legal basis for producing and disseminating monthly unemployment data. However, these monthly data are estimates based on results of the European Union Labour force survey (EU LFS), which is a continuous household survey carried out in all Member States in accordance with European legislation and on the basis of harmonised definitions. These results are interpolated/extrapolated to monthly data using national survey data and/or national monthly series on registered unemployment. The quarterly LFS results are always used as a benchmark to ensure international comparability. As for most Member States the results from the LFS for a full quarter are available 90 days after the end of the reference period, the most recent figures are usually provisional. For many countries monthly unemployment data are calculated by Eurostat, while several countries actually supply those figures directly from the LFS.

The following LFS data are used in the calculations of the monthly unemployment rates published in this article:

For Czechia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania, Finland and Sweden: monthly LFS data up to and including July 2020.

For Greece: monthly data up to and including May 2020.

For Denmark and Portugal: monthly data (3 month moving average) up to and including June, July and August 2020.

For Estonia and Hungary: monthly data (3 month moving average) up to and including May, June and July 2020.

For Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia: quarterly data up and including Q1 2020.

For Cyprus, Ireland, Spain, France, Latvia: quarterly data up and including Q2 2020.

For the United Kingdom: monthly data (3 month moving average) up to and including April, May and June 2020.

For Germany: due to the introduction of the new German system of integrated household surveys, including the LFS, the monthly unemployment rate for July 2020 is an estimation based on the figures recorded in previous periods, taking into account current developments.

Monthly unemployment and employment series are calculated first at the level of four categories for each Member State (males and females 15-24 years, males and females 25-74 years). These series are then seasonally adjusted and all the national and European aggregates are calculated. Monthly unemployment figures are published by Eurostat as rates (as a percentage of the labour force) or levels (in thousands), by gender and for two age groups (persons aged 15-24, and those aged 25-74). The figures are available as unadjusted, seasonally adjusted and trend series. There are monthly estimates for all EU Member States. Data for the EU aggregate start in 2000 and for the euro area in April 1998; the starting point for individual Member States varies.

Member States may publish other rates such as register-based unemployment rates, or rates based on the national LFS or corresponding surveys. These rates may vary from those published by Eurostat due to a different definition or methodological choices.