Euro area

Euro area — Employment ratio

Euro area desk: EMU aggregate first; Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, United Kingdom and United States alongside.

53.39%

−0.26 pp

As of 2025 | % of population ages 15+

Latest
53.39% 2025
Previous year
53.65% 2024
Min
48.23% 1996
Max
53.67% 2023
YearEmployment ratio
202553.39%
202453.65%
202353.67%
202253.29%
202152.25%
202051.77%
201952.75%
201852.30%
201751.70%
201651.03%
201550.50%
201450.12%
201349.99%
201250.34%
201150.77%
201050.87%
200951.28%
200852.57%
200752.35%
200651.70%
200550.98%
200450.58%
200350.58%
200250.40%
#CountryEmployment ratioChangeYear
39Netherlands64.64%−0.32 pp2025
59Ireland61.84%−0.38 pp202581United States59.11%−0.35 pp202587United Kingdom58.46%−0.41 pp202588Germany58.32%−0.53 pp2025128Euro area53.39%−0.26 pp2025
134Spain51.45%+0.20 pp2025
136France51.17%−0.37 pp2025159Italy46.15%−0.21 pp2025

What the employment ratio is

The employment-to-population ratio (SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.ZS, modelled ILO estimate) is employed people as a share of the population aged 15 and over. Latest: 53.39% in 2025.

It is not the unemployment rate. Students, retirees and people outside the labour force sit in the denominator. From 1991 to 2025 (35 years): latest 53.39% (2025), previous year 53.65% (2024); low 48.23% (1996), high 53.67% (2023).

Source: World Bank Open Data. Licence: CC BY 4.0 (terms).

Reading this series

This series is the employment-to-population ratio for people aged 15 and over: the share of that population who are employed. It comes from World Bank Open Data indicator SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.ZS, a modelled ILO estimate. It is not the unemployment rate. Students, retirees, people looking after a household and others outside the labour force are all in the denominator, so the ratio can fall even when unemployment is unchanged.

The indicator is modelled from national labour-force surveys and censuses and is revised when those inputs change. Population age structure and retirement ages differ between economies, so levels are not directly equivalent. The chart shows selected economies over the years you choose, and the ranked table shows each economy’s latest published year. Read the direction of travel and the broad level; small differences between neighbouring economies sit within the uncertainty of the estimates. The ratio also treats each employed person alike, whether they work an hour a week or a full year, so it says nothing about hours worked.

About this desk

Euro area appears first, with comparison economies where the producer publishes them. This desk filters the same official series as the all-countries view; it does not recalculate values.

Output per worker and employment-share indicators come from World Bank Open Data. The employment shares are ILO-modelled estimates published by the Bank. Each page gives its indicator and source link.

Chart and Table show the same observations. Range buttons change only the displayed years; use Country to switch desks. Each page names its source and licence.