Euro area

Euro areaParticipation

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

56.97%

−0.32 pp

As of 2025 | % of population ages 15+

Latest
56.97% 2025
Previous year
57.29% 2024
Min
54.48% 1995
Max
57.41% 2023
YearValue
202556.97%
202457.29%
202357.41%
202257.14%
202156.60%
202056.14%
201957.00%
201856.90%
201756.83%
201656.69%
201556.65%
201456.72%
201356.82%
201256.84%
201156.58%
201056.64%
200956.71%
200856.83%
200756.60%
200656.46%
200556.13%
200455.80%
200355.66%
200255.32%
#CountryParticipationChangeYear
43Netherlands67.25%−0.21 pp2025
62Ireland64.84%−0.17 pp202592United States61.70%−0.26 pp202595United Kingdom61.37%−0.19 pp202599Germany60.57%−0.35 pp2025
125Spain57.41%−0.43 pp2025
130Euro area56.97%−0.32 pp2025139France55.35%−0.32 pp2025162Italy49.30%−0.29 pp2025

What labour-force participation is

The labour-force participation rate (SL.TLF.CACT.ZS, modelled ILO estimate) is people who are employed or unemployed as a share of the population aged 15 and over. Latest: 56.97% in 2025.

It measures who is in the market for work, not what they earn. From 1990 to 2025 (36 years): latest 56.97% (2025), previous year 57.29% (2024); low 54.48% (1995), high 57.41% (2023).

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